S^Tvancis tJohnson 



Famous Assassinations 
of History 




JULIUS C.-KSAR 



Famous Assassinations 
of History 

From Philip of Macedon, 336 B.C., to 
Alexander of Servia, A.D. 1903 

By Francis Johnson 

WITH rWENrr-NINE PORTRAITS 




Chicago 

A. C. McClurg & Co. 

1903 



THE UBRARY OF i 
CON&RcSS. I 

TrtO Co|/ies ReCoiveii j 

SEP 26 1903 

Copyiight Entry 

CLASS C«- xXc. No 

COPY B. 



Copyright 

A. C. McClurg &f Co. 

1903 



J) 2. if 

,'6 



Published September 19, 1903 



UNIVERSITY PRESS • JOHN WILSON 
AND SON • CAMBRIDGE, U.S.A. 



P r e f a c e 



THE thirty-one assassinations, famous in history, 
which are narrated in this volume, have never 
before had their stories told in a collected form in any 
language. The accounts of them were scattered through 
the historical works of all nations, and through many 
volumes of private memoirs, which had to be scanned 
for proper and trustworthy material. It is hoped that 
their presentation in this form will make an interesting 
volume, not only for the student of history, but also for 
the general reader, on account of the historical and 
psychological interest which attaches to them. 

These assassinations embrace a period of nearly 
twenty-five centuries, — that of Philip of Macedon, in 
336 B.C., being the first, and that of Alexander and 
Draga, in the present year, being the last. Only those 
assassinations have been included which either had an 
important and political bearing on the world, or on the 
nation immediately affected, or which left a profound, 
and, it would seem, indelible impression on the imagi- 
nation of contemporaries and posterity. All those which 
were not distinguished by one of these features were 
excluded from this series. 

V 



PREFACE 

It will undoubtedly occur to some who read this vol- 
ume that it should have included the assassination of 
President Garfield. It was omitted, not from any want of 
respect or sympathy for the memory of our illustrious 
martyr-President, but simply for the reason that his 
assassination rather grew out of the morbid aberration 
of one diseased mind than out of the general spirit 
of the epoch in which he lived. 

Others may think that the assassinations of Henry 
the Third of France, of Henry of Guise, and of Marshal 
Coligny, which are certainly famous in history, should 
have found a place here. But they all grew out of the 
same spirit of religious hatred and conflict in France 
during the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries, and 
Henry the Fourth was selected as its most illustrious 
victim. 

It has been the object of the writer to make each of 
these " famous assassinations " the central scene of a 
picture in which the political, religious, or national 
features of the epoch in which the assassination oc- 
curred are portrayed with historical fidelity and strict 
impartiality. 

F. J. 

Lafayette, Ind., August i, 1903. 



VI 



Contents 



CHAPTER I 

Page 

Assassination of Philip of Macedon (336 B.C.) . . 3 



CHAPTER n 
Assassination of Tiberius Gracchus (133 B.C.) . . n 

CHAPTER HI 
Assassination of Julius C^ksar (44 B.C.) 25 

CHAPTER IV 

Assassinations of Tiberius, Caligula, Claudius, Nero 
(A.D. 37-68) 35 

CHAPTER V 
Assassination of Hypatia (A.D. 415) 41 

CHAPTER VI 
Assassination of Thomas A Becket (December 29, 11 70) 53 

CHAPTER VII 
Assassination of Gessler (A.D. 1307) 67 

CHAPTER VIII 

Assassination of Inez de Castro (A D. 1355) ... ']^ 

vii 



CONTEXTS 

CHAPTER IX 

Page 
AssASsrxATioxs OF Rizzio AXD Dakxley (March 9, 1566; 

Februan- 9, 1567) S9 

CHAPTER X 

ASSASSIXATIOX or WlLUAM OF ORANGE (^]u[\ lO, I5S4) III 

CHAPTER XI 
ASSASSINATIOXS BY IVAX THE TERRIBLE (1560-I5S4) . . I3I 

CHAPTER XII 

AssASsrsATiox OF Hexry the ForRTH OF Fkaxce (May 

14, i6io) 147 

CHAPTER XIII 
ASSASSIXATIOX OF Wat.i. fv steix (February 24, 1634) . . 165 

CHAPTER XIV 
ASSASSIXATIOX OF THE BROTHERS JOHN AXD CORXEUUS 

De Witt (Augfus: r^. 167^) 191 

CHAPTER XV 

ASSASSIXATIOX OF AUEXIS, SOX OF PeTER THE GREAT 

(June ^6, 171S) 211 

CHAPTER X\T 

ASSASSIXATIOX OF PETER THE THIRD OF RUSSIA (July 1 7. 

1762) 221 

CHAPTER XVII 
ASSASSIXATIOX OF GUSTAVTS THE THIRD OF SWEDEX 

(March 17, 1792) 249 

viii 



CONTEXTS 



CHAPTER XVin 
AssAssixATiox OF jEASf Paul IIarax (JoIt 13, 1793) - 2S3 

CHAPTER Xrx 
AssASSiXATiON" OF Pacl THE FissT OF RUSSIA (March 

24, I8OI) Tpl 



CHAPTER XX 
ASSASSIN'ATTON- OF AUGrST VOX KOTZEBITE (March 23. 

»8r9) -315 

CHAPTER XXI 
AssASSiXATiox OF THE Dcc DE Berjlt (Februajy 13, 1820) 327 

CHAPTER XXn 
AssASsrxATiox OF Abraham Ltxcolx (April 14, 1865) . 34.3 

CHAPTER XXni 

AsSASStXATIOX OF AlEXAXDEE. THE SECOND OF RUSSIA 

(March 13. 1881) 359 

CHAPTER XXIV 

AsSASSrXATIOX OF WlLXIAM ^[cKrN'LET, PRESTDE^rT OF 

THE Untted States (September 6. 1901) 3Sr 

CHAPTER XXV 
ASSASSIXATIOXS OF AlEXAXTDER I. AXD DRAGA, KlVG 

AXD OxiEEX OF Sekvia (June lo-ri, 1903) .... 399 



IX 



Illustrations 



Julius Caesar Frontispiece 

To face page 

Philip of Macedon 3 

Tiberius Gracchus 11 

Caligula 35 

Claudius 37 ■ 

Thomas a Becket 53 

Gessler 67 

liiez de Castro 77 

David Rizzio 89 

Lord Damley 94 

William of Orange in 

Ivan the Terrible 131 

Henry IV 147 

Wallenstein 165 

John de Witt 191 

Cornelius de Witt 205 

Alexis 211 

Peter III 221 

Gustavus III 249 

Jean Paul Marat 283 

Paul 1 301 

xi 



ILLUSTRATIONS 

To face page 

August von Kotzebue 315 

Due de Berry . . . , : . <, 327 

Abraham Lincoln 343 

Alexander II. of Russia 359 

William McKinley 381 

Alexander I. of Servia 399 

Queen Draga 409 



xu 



CHAPTER I 
PHILIP OF MACEDON 



v^ 




PHILIP OF MACEDON 



Famous Assassinations 



CHAPTER I 

ASSASSINATION OF PHILIP OF MACEDON 
(336 B, C.) 

THE assassination of Philip of Macedon, which 
occurred in the year 336 b. c, was one of the most 
important in ancient history, not only because it termi- 
nated the glorious career of one of the most remarkable 
men of his times, but also because it led immediately to 
the accession of Alexander, one of the supremely great 
men of history, — an event which would very likely not 
have taken place at all if Philip had continued to live for 
a number of years and had himself selected the successor 
to his throne. Philip of Macedon was then at the height 
of his power. The battle of Chaeronea, in 338 b. c, had 
made him the master of Greece ; and by his tactful and 
generous treatment of the vanquished he had even been 
appointed by the Amphictyon League commander-in-chief 
of all the Greek forces, which he intended to lead, at the 
head of his Macedonian army, against the Persians, and 
to conquer their mighty empire. This stupendous plan, 
by whose accomplishment Philip would have anticipated 
the glorious achievements of Alexander, his son, was 
frustrated by his assassination. 

3 



FAMOUS ASSASSINATIONS 

While Philip had arranged everything for his descent 
upon Persia, and had been frequently absent from home, 
his domestic affairs in his own capital, which had never 
been of a very satisfactory character, took such an unfa- 
vorable turn as to require his personal attention. As a 
husband, Philip had often given just cause of complaint 
to Olympias, his royal spouse. Wherever he went he 
formed liaisons, and several illegitimate children were 
openly recognized by him as his own. But when Olym- 
pias, the Queen, laid herself open to a suspicion of having 
violated her marriage vows in his absence, he repudiated 
her, charging her with gross infidelity, and intimating 
that he had very strong doubts of being the father of 
Alexander. Olympias thereupon went back to her na- 
tive state, Epirus, accompanied by Alexander, who was 
highly incensed at the treatment shown to his mother 
and himself. 

Philip contracted a second marriage with Cleopatra, a 
niece of Attains, one of his generals ; and it is said that 
at the wedding feast Attains, half intoxicated, expressed 
the wish and hope that Cleopatra might give the Mace- 
donians a lawful heir to the kingdom. This remark, over- 
heard by Alexander, so enraged him that, throwing a full 
cup at Attalus's head, he shouted to him : " What, you 
scoundrel ! am I then a bastard ? " Whereupon Philip, 
taking Attalus's part, rose from his seat, and rushing 
with his drawn sword upon Alexander would have run 
his son through, if he had not, being himself more than 
half drunk with wine, slipped and fallen on the floor ; at 
which sight Alexander scornfully said : " See there the 
man who is making great preparations to invade Asia 
at the head of a powerful army, and who falls to the 

4 



PHILIP OF MACEDON 

ground like a helpless child in going from one seat to 
another." 

It is said that after this debauch both Olympias and 
Alexander retired from Philip's capital, the one going to 
Epirus, and the other to Illyria. By the counsels and 
efforts of Demaratus, the Corinthian, an old friend of the 
royal family, Philip was, however, induced to send for 
Alexander, and the son returned to his father's court. 
Soon afterwards, Cleopatra gave birth to a son ; and the 
fears of Alexander, who remained in communication with 
his mother and was filled wath jealous rage by her, 
revived. 

It is more than likely — although absolute proof of it 
has never been furnished — that Olympias, in her re- 
vengeful jealousy, planned the assassination of the King 
who had so cruelly offended her pride as a woman, and 
who, she supposed, was also plotting to exclude her own 
son from the throne and place upon it the son of her 
young rival. An opportunity for this act of revenge soon 
presented itself. A young Macedonian, named Pausanias, 
had been mortally offended by Attalus and Queen Cleo- 
patra. He appealed to the King for reparation of the 
wrong done to him ; but this being refused, he resolved 
to revenge himself by taking the King's life. All his- 
torians seem to agree that Pausanias was encouraged and 
incited to this act of revenge by Olympias ; but whether 
or not Alexander was cognizant of the murderous 
plot, and approved it, has never been satisfactorily ex- 
plained, and remains one of the unsolved problems of 
history. 

The occasion for the murderous act of Pausanias was 
the wedding of Alexander's sister with her uncle Alex- 

5 



FAMOUS ASSASSINATIONS 

ander, King of Epirus. Philip considered this marriage 
between his daughter and the brother of his first wife, 
Olympias, an act of consummate statesmanship, inasmuch 
as it transferred an enemy and an ally of Olympias to his 
own side and made a friend of him. He therefore re- 
solved to make the nuptials of this ill-matched couple as 
brilliant as possible. Grand Olympian games and spec- 
tacular festivities were arranged, and an incredible dis- 
play of luxury and pomp, unheard of in those days, was 
planned to show to the wondering eyes of Greece the 
court of the new master of the civilized world in matchless 
splendor and grandeur. All the cities of Greece had sent 
delegations to these brilliant festivities ; most of them 
came with costly wedding presents, among which golden 
crowns were conspicuous. Poets sent nuptial hymns and 
poems celebrating the beauty of the bride and the genius 
of the father in the most extravagant terms ; and a noted 
dramatist of that age, Neoptolemus, composed a tragedy 
for the occasion, in which Philip, under a fictitious name, 
was represented as the conqueror of Asia and the tri- 
umphant vanquisher of the great Darius. 

It was at the theatre, in which this tragedy was to be 
performed, that Philip met his doom. Accompanied by 
a brilliant cortege of all that were renowned at his court 
for birth, talent, and wealth, he proceeded to the theatre. 
On approaching the entrance, he bade the noblemen sur- 
rounding him to advance, and his body-guard to fall 
back, so that he might be personally more conspicuous 
before the enraptured eyes of his subjects. The procession 
was led by priests in white robes, each carrying a statue 
of one of the twelve principal gods ; and a thirteenth 
statue, even more richly draped and ornamented than the 

6 



PHILIP OF MACEDON 

others, with the insignia of divinity upon it, was that of 
PhiHp himself. 

It was the supreme moment of his pride and happiness ; 
but it was also his last. The noblemen and courtiers had 
already disappeared in the building. The body-guard, 
obedient to the King's orders, remained behind. Just 
at the moment when the King stepped forward, alone, 
under the gateway of the theatre, a man sprang from a 
side corridor, thrust a sharp short sword into his side, 
and hurried off as the royal victim reeled and fell. In 
the tremendous confusion which arose, the assassin came 
very near making his escape. He ran toward a swift 
horse which was kept in readiness for him by friends 
who evidently knew of the murder and were in the plot ; 
and, dazed as the people were who witnessed the assassi- 
nation, he would probably have escaped, had not his 
sandal caught in a vine-stock and caused him to fall, 
which gave some of his pursuers time to lay their hands 
on him before he could get up. In their rage, they killed 
him with their spears and tore him to pieces. 

The surroundings and execution of this plot bear 
a strong resemblance to the assassination of Abraham 
Lincoln. In both cases there was an individual mur- 
derer, the scene was a theatre, the act was done with 
incredible audacity in the presence of a large concourse 
of people, and the murderer was crippled by a misstep 
after the fatal blow. 

The assassination of Philip of Macedon was not only 
one of the boldest and most dramatic in history, but it 
was also one of the earliest in point of time. 



CHAPTER II 
TIBERIUS GRACCHUS 




^ 

J 






M^Jx 



^%^:^;m 




TIBERIUS GRACCHUS 



CHAPTER II 

ASSASSINATION OF TIBERIUS GRACCHUS 
(133 B. C.) 

IN the history of ancient Rome there occurs one 
political assassination which stands out as an event 
of special significance, not only on account of the great 
celebrity of the victim, but also owing to the fact that it 
is the first occasion on record in which the conflicting 
economical interests of different classes in a republic were 
settled by a resort to arms, instead of being adjudicated 
on principles of equity and justice, or simply by public 
authority. 

This great historical event was the murder of Tiberius 
Gracchus, which was soon followed by the forced suicide 
of his brother, Caius Gracchus, — the immediate result 
of their attempt to enforce an agrarian law passed as 
an act of justice to the poorer classes of Roman citizens. 
The law was violently opposed by the rich, who organized 
an armed revolution against its originators and were 
powerful enough to do away with them. 

There is in the whole conflict about that agrarian law 
(the so-called Sempronian law) a modern feature which 
makes it especially interesting to Americans at a time 
when party issues turn largely on economical questions, 
and when the antagonism between capital and labor (or 

II 



FAMOUS ASSASSINATIONS 

the rich and the poor) threatens to enter the acute stage. 
It will be noticed that at that early age (more than two 
thousand years ago) capital already had a power and 
commanded a political influence against which right and 
justice, allied to poverty, battled in vain. History, both 
ancient and modern, has been written largely in con- 
formity with the ideas and prejudices of the ruling 
classes, and in praise of them, while their enemies and 
opponents have generally been unjustly criticised and 
denounced as disturbers of public order and peace, or 
even as anarchists and rebels against public authority. 
The two illustrious brothers, the Gracchi, have shared this 
unjust treatment of historians, and in the estimation of 
many, pass to-day as dangerous and seditious cliaracters 
whose death alone could have saved Rome from greater 
calamities. An impartial investigation of their case will, 
in our opinion, furnish sufficient proof to reverse this 
historical judgment. 

The two Gracchi were the sons of Sempronius Grac- 
chus, the famous Roman tribune, who won distinction by 
his great independence and ability in the administration of 
his office, and of the equally famous Cornelia, daughter 
of Cornelius Scipio Africanus, the renowned vanquisher 
of Hannibal. The brothers, so closely united and so much 
alike in political sentiments, designs, and efforts, were 
of different character, temperament, and appearance. 
Tiberius, who was nine years older than his brother, was 
gentle and mild in conduct ; and his countenance, his eyes, 
and his gestures were of peculiar and winning gentleness. 
His brother Caius was animated, vehement, and high- 
tempered. His eloquence was distinguished by the same 
characteristics, while that of Tiberius was tactful, per- 

12 



TIBERIUS GRACCHUS 

suasive, and conciliatory. Tiberius would have made an 
ideal preacher ; Caius seemed to be predestined for the 
part of a popular advocate and orator. 

Tiberius had seen military service and won distinction 
both by his bravery and prudence in Spain as aid to his 
brother-in-law, Scipio ^milianus, who was the com- 
mander-in-chief. It was, therefore, not his illustrious 
birth alone, but individual merit also, which caused him 
to be elected tribune of the people in the year 133 b. c. 
As such he introduced a bill for the re-apportionment of 
the public lands and their distribution among the poorer 
citizens of Rome. Various explanations have been given 
for this action of Tiberius Gracchus. It has been said 
that he was instigated by others to introduce a measure 
which could not fail to arouse against him the strongest 
hostility of the rich proprietors of some of these lands. 
But from a statement in writing left by his brother Caius, 
it appears that the idea of the bill originated with Tibe- 
rius himself, and that its introduction sprang much more 
from a noble and generous impulse than from political 
ambition. 

Even to-day the traveller who traverses the silent and 
depopulated desert of the Roman Campagna, which is 
owned by a limited number of large proprietors and is 
left in an almost uncultivated state, is struck forcibly with 
the thought that the unwise and unjust distribution of 
the land has had much to do with the desolate and un- 
productive aspect of this district, which under judicious 
and scientific cultivation might yield rich harvests and 
contribute materially to the welfare of the inhabitants 
of Tuscany. The same thought struck Tiberius Gracchus 
as, on his departure for Spain, he travelled through 

13 



FAMOUS ASSASSINATIONS 

Tuscany and found it almost a desert, or, at best, only 
rudely cultivated in some parts by barbarian and imported 
slaves. It was at that time that he first conceived the 
idea of bringing about a change — an idea which con- 
tinued to haunt his mind until he was in a position to 
realize it. And in doing so he found a precedent for 
legislative action. 

There already existed a law at Rome — the so-called 
Licinian law — which limited the number of acres to be 
possessed by any one citizen to five hundred. But this 
Licinian law had been a dead letter for many years, and 
there were many rich citizens in Rome who counted the 
number of their acres by the thousand or even ten thou- 
sand. It was this violation of the Licinian law, and the 
open injustice done to the poor by this violation, which 
Tiberius Gracchus wanted to correct. He therefore in- 
troduced a new agrarian law which aimed to revive the 
Licinian law, but at the same time greatly modified and 
attenuated its provisions. The change in the law which 
Tiberius Gracchus proposed was in one respect an act of 
injustice, because it put a premium on the violation of the 
law as it had existed, instead of punishing that violation 
by imposing an adequate fine. Under the new law a citi- 
zen might hold 500 acres of the public lands in his own 
name, and in addition, 250 acres for each son still under 
the paternal roof and authority. Moreover, the new law 
provided that, whenever a citizen should be compelled to 
give up land which he held in excess of the share which 
the law allowed him, he should be reimbursed for this 
loss, at the appraised value, from the public treasury. 
Tiberius Gracchus also favored the immediate distribution 
of the confiscated lands among the poor as their absolute 

14 



TIBERIUS GRACCHUS 

property, and proposed that, whenever a Roman colony 
was founded on conquered territory, a similar distribution 
of the newly acquired land should be made. 

The new law was enthusiastically applauded by the 
Roman people, even before it had been legally adopted; 
but the Senate most violently opposed it, because many 
Senators would have been deprived by its passage of 
most valuable lands. In order to defeat it they prevailed 
upon one of the ten tribunes to object to the third reading 
of the law. The unanimous support of the tribunes was 
necessary for its passage. When the day for the public 
vote on the law had come, an immense multitude of 
people was assembled at the Forum. The ten tribunes 
entered and took their seats on the platform. Tiberius 
Gracchus arose and ordered the clerk to read his law, 
but was immediately interrupted by Octavius, who or- 
dered him to stop. The interruption caused an immense 
sensation and commotion among the spectators. Tiberius, 
after having vainly tried to persuade Octavius to with- 
draw his objection, adjourned the meeting to a later day. 
During this interval he used all his power of persuasion to 
overcome the resistance of Octavius, but in vain. It was 
then that Tiberius Gracchus, in his intense desire to pass 
a public measure which he considered highly beneficial 
to the people and almost indispensable to the public wel- 
fare, resolved to resort to an expedient which was really 
unconstitutional and which is the only public act of his 
that gives the least foundation to the charge of sedition 
so generally preferred against him. He came to the con- 
clusion that the only way to overcome the veto of Octa- 
vius was to depose him from his office by a popular vote. 
This was a clear violation of the Constitution, and he 

15 



FAMOUS ASSASSINATIONS 

carried out his intention in spite of the loud protests of 
the Senate. 

The scene on the Forum in which Octavius was de- 
posed must have been very pathetic and impressive ; and 
while it signified an immediate victory for Tiberius Grac- 
chus, it nevertheless incensed a great many Roman citi- 
zens and turned them against him. It is safe to say that 
this scene sealed his doom and furnished the principal 
reason for his assassination. Plutarch, a reliable and 
impartial authority, describes the scene as follows : 

" When the people were met together again, Tiberius placed 
himself in the rostra and endeavored a second time to persuade 
Octavius. But all being to no purpose, he referred the whole 
matter to the people, calling on them to vote at once whether 
Octavius should be deposed or not; and when seventeen of the 
thirty-five tribes had already voted against him, and there wanted 
only the vote of one tribe more for his final deprivation, Tiberius 
put a short stop to the proceedings, and once more renewed his 
importunities ; he embraced and kissed him before all the assembly, 
begging with all the earnestness imaginable that he would neither 
suffer himself to incur the dishonor, nor him to be reputed the 
author and promoter of so odious a measure. Octavius did seem 
a little softened and moved with these entreaties ; his eyes filled 
with tears and he continued silent for a considerable time. But 
presently looking toward the rich men and proprietors of estates, 
who stood gathered in a body together, partly for shame, and 
partly for fear of disgracing himself with them, he boldly bade 
Tiberius use any severity he pleased. The law for his deposition 
being thus voted, Tiberius ordered one of his servants, whom he 
had made a freeman, to remove Octavius from the rostra, employ- 
ing his own domestic freed servants instead of the public officers. 
And it made the action seem all the sadder that Octavius was 
dragged out in such an ignominious manner. The people immedi- 
ately assaulted him, while the rich men ran in to his assistance. 
Octavius, with some difliculty, was snatched away,^and safely con- 
veyed out of the crowd ; though a trusty servant of his, who had 

i6 



TIBERIUS GRACCHUS 

placed himself in front of his master that he might assist his 
escape, in keeping off the multitude, had his eyes struck out, 
much to the displeasure of Tiberius, who ran with all haste, when 
he perceived the disturbance, to appease the rioters." 

The law was then passed, and commissioners were 
immediately appointed to make a survey of the lands and 
see that they were equally divided. 

The forcible ejection of Octavius and the subsequent 
passage of the new agrarian law opened a chasm between 
Tiberius Gracchus and the patricians, which nothing but 
his death could close up. He had made himself im- 
mensely popular with the poor, and other laws which he 
introduced increased that popularity. But the more the 
poor idolized him, the more the rich hated and abhorred 
him ; and a large number of the better and more thought- 
ful class of plebeians resented his bold violation of the 
Constitution in removing Octavius from office. 

Such were the conditions when the time for the ex- 
piration of his official term as tribune approached, and 
he as well as his friends saw the necessity for his re- 
election as a measure for protecting his life. He there- 
fore appeared as a candidate for reelection ; and when 
on the first day of the election no choice had resulted 
from the vote, the next day was appointed for the final 
decision. Tiberius knew that not only his political career, 
but his very life depended on the result, and he therefore 
left no stone unturned to rally his friends to the rescue. 
But unfortunately, it being harvest time, many of his 
adherents were absent from the city, and could not be 
reached in time for the struggle. 

On the day following, the Senate convened at an early 
hour, while the people assembled at the Capitol to proceed 
2 17 



FAMOUS ASSASSINATIONS 

with the vote. However, great confusion prevailed, and 
a large number of outsiders tried to force their way in 
and establish themselves among the voters. And even 
the appearance of Tiberius Gracchus, although he was 
received with loud acclamations, failed to restore order 
in the assemblage. Moreover, he showed by the depres- 
sion in his countenance and conduct that he had lost con- 
fidence in the success of his cause. Several evil omens 
which he had encountered on his way to the Capitol dis- 
turbed his mind. At daybreak a soothsayer, who prog- 
nosticated good or bad success by the pecking of fowls, 
informed him that all his efforts to induce the fowls to 
eat had failed. Tiberius then remembered that, a short 
time before, two serpents had been found in his helmet. 
On stepping out of the house he stumbled on the thresh- 
old and hurt his great toe so badly that it bled profusely. 
As he walked through the streets he saw on his left hand 
two ravens fighting on the roof of a house, and suddenly 
a stone, detached from the roof, fell at his feet. The 
friends of Gracchus, who surrounded him, all stopped, and 
he himself hesitated as to whether he should proceed or 
return to his house. However, a philosopher from Cuma, 
one of his intimates, who was credited with inspiring 
Gracchus with his democratic ideas and who was free 
from the superstition of the Romans, persuaded him to 
continue on his way to the Capitol. 

There the voting of the tribes was proceeding with great 
noise and confusion. All at once Gracchus noticed that 
one of his friends, Lucius Flaccus, a Senator, had mounted 
an elevation from which he could be easily seen, but where 
he was too far ofif to be heard, and was indicating by mo- 
tions of his hand that he wished to communicate some im- 

i8 



TIBERIUS GRACCHUS 

portant news. Tiberius told the crowd to let Flaccus pass. 
With great difficulty the Senator reached Tiberius and in- 
formed him that at the session of the Senate, after the 
Consul had refused to have him arrested, a resolution had 
been passed to kill him, and that the Senators had armed a 
large number of their clients and slaves to carry out this 
purpose. Tiberius immediately informed the friends who 
surrounded him of the action of the Senate, and signified 
to those at a greater distance the danger in which he 
was placed, by raising his hands to his head, — and it 
was this motion, entirely innocent in itself, which has- 
tened his ruin. His enemies construed it as a desire on 
his part to wear a crown, and carried this ridiculous news 
to the Senate chamber. It caused a perfect explosion of 
maledictions and threats among the Senators ; and Scipio 
Nasica, the most violent of all, immediately made a 
motion that the Consul be instructed to save the Republic 
and to exterminate the would-be tyrant. The Consul 
replied that he would resist any factious and criminal 
attempt against the Republic, but that he would not put 
to death a Roman citizen without trial. On this Scipio 
Nasica turned to the Senators, exclaiming : " Since the 
Consul betrays the city, let those who want to defend the 
laws follow me ! " and followed by a large number of 
Senators and their clients, he rushed toward the place 
where Tiberius Gracchus, surrounded by his friends, was 
observing the progress of the election. Immediately a 
riot and fight ensued. The Senators, who were armed 
with clubs, canes, stones, or whatever weapon they could 
lay their hands on, rushed upon the crowd of voters, 
overthrew, beat, and killed them, stamping them under 
their feet and quickly and irresistibly advancing toward 

19 



FAMOUS ASSASSINATIONS 

the spot where they beheld the man who was the object 
of their rage and bloodthirstiness. Tiberius, unarmed 
and forsaken by his friends, turned round to seek safety 
in flight, but, stumbUng over those who had been knocked 
down, fell to the ground. It was at that moment, while 
Tiberius was trying to get on his feet again, that one of 
his own colleagues, a tribune of the people, dealt him a 
powerful and fatal blow, striking him on the head with 
the leg of a stool. Others rushed up and struck him 
again and again, but it was only a lifeless corpse which 
suffered from their abuse. Three hundred of his friends 
had fallen with him. It was the first Roman blood which 
had been shed in civil war, and this first conflict deprived 
Rome of one of its most illustrious citizens. 

It is unnecessary to go into any details regarding the 
death of Caius Gracchus, who took up and continued the 
work of his brother. To the measures in favor of the 
poor which had been advocated by Tiberius, he added 
others, — for instance, regular distributions of corn among 
the poor at half price, the imposition of new taxes upon 
articles of luxury imported from foreign countries, and 
employment on public works for mechanics and laborers 
who could not find employment on private contract. It 
will be seen that these measures, as well as some other 
projects of minor importance which Caius Gracchus ad- 
vocated and caused to be enacted as laws, form part 
of the platform of modern labor parties, and that the 
Gracchi can fitly be designated as the founders of these 
parties. They both fell victims to the attempt to carry 
out their theories. At first, it would seem, Caius Gracchus 
at the request of his mother, was inclined to abandon 
the projects of Tiberius ; but one night, says Cicero in 

20 



TIBERIUS GRACCHUS 

his book De Divinatione, he heard Tiberius saying to him : 
"Why hesitate, Caius? Thy destiny shall be the same 
as mine — to fight for the people, and to die for them." 
It is said that this prophecy determined him in his course, 
and that his death was the consequence. In I2i b. c, 
during a public riot and conflict organized by his enemies 
for his destruction, he committed suicide, dying not by 
his own hand, but by commanding his slave to stab him, 
— an order which was promptly obeyed. The assassi- 
nation of the one and the forced suicide of the other 
immortalized the two brothers. 



21 



CHAPTER III 
JULIUS CiESAR 



CHAPTER III 

ASSASSINATION OF JULIUS C^SAR 
(44 B. C.) 

AMERICANS are not great students of history, 
especially ancient history. Very likely the assassi- 
nation of Julius Csesar, one of the most important events 
in the history of ancient Rome, would also be among the 
" things not generally known " among Americans, had 
not Shakespeare's great tragedy made them familiar with 
it. It is true, the aims of the dramatist and of the his- 
torian are wide-apart. The dramatist places the hero 
in the centre of the plot, and causes every part of it to 
contribute to the catastrophe which overwhelms him 
under the decree of fate. He is the victim of his own 
guilt. The historian makes the great man but one of 
the principal factors in the evolution of events, and if a 
Caesar or a Napoleon succumbs in the struggle, it is by 
force of external circumstances against which his genius 
is powerless to contend, although his ambition or his 
passion may have been the dominant cause of arraying 
those circumstances against him. By his matchless 
genius and incomparable art, Shakespeare has, to a cer- 
tain degree, in his " Julius Caesar," solved the difficult 
problem of combining the task of the dramatic poet with 
that of the historian, and has placed before the spectator 

25 



FAMOUS ASSASSINATIONS 

not only Caesar himself with his world-wide and imperial- 
istic ambition as the central figure of the play, but also 
Rome with its republican recollections and aspirations in 
antagonism to Caesar's ambition. The delineation of the 
character of the foremost man of the ancient world by 
the greatest dramatist of modern times, and his skilful 
grouping of the great republicans struggling for the 
maintenance of republican institutions, have been so in- 
delibly engraved upon the minds of modern readers that 
the assassination of Julius Caesar, which took place at 
Rome 44 B. c, is nearly as familiar to them as the assas- 
sination of Abraham Lincoln. And if we, in this series 
of Famous Assassinations in History, devote a chapter to 
it, it is simply for the reason that the series would be 
incomplete without it. Moreover, it may be both inter- 
esting and useful to call to the mind of the reader the 
circumstances and surroundings which led to the down- 
fall of Caesar. The conspiracy and assassination removed 
from the scene of action the master-mind of the age, 
without saving the republican institutions ; and it is only 
by explaining the causes that we can do justice to the 
noble intentions of the conspirators, while lamenting the 
assassination of Caesar as a public misfortune for Rome, 
inasmuch as it removed the strong hand that could 
have prevented the anarchy and civil war which broke 
out among his successors, immediately after his disap- 
pearance from the public stage. 

Caesar was at the height of his power. His achieve- 
ments had eclipsed the military glory of Pompey, and by 
his wonderful career he might truly be looked upon as 
the " man of destiny." On his return from Gaul, when 
the Senate had rejected his request for a prolongation of 

26 



JULIUS C^SAR 

his command, and had ordered him to disband his army 
and to give up the administration of his province, his 
popularity was so great that his homeward journey, 
escorted as he was by his victorious army, was but a 
continuous triumphal march. Not only Rome, but all 
Italy welcomed him home as its greatest man, and was 
ready to heap its greatest, nay even divine honors upon 
him. 

The Senate and its chosen commander-in-chief, Pom- 
pey, had fled on the approach of Caesar. In the decisive 
battle of Pharsalus Caesar defeated Pompey, and by this 
victory became the sole ruler of the Roman Republic. 
Pompey was assassinated on landing in Egypt, as a fugi- 
tive, and Caesar returned to Rome, where he was received 
with the tumultuous acclamations of the people, and con- 
ducted to the Capitol as the savior of the country. The 
Senate, which had just made war upon him and out- 
lawed him as an enemy of the fatherland, appointed him 
dictator for ten years with absolute and supreme power, 
gave him a body-guard of seventy-two lictors to pro- 
claim his majesty and inviolability, and ordered his statue 
to be placed beside that of Jupiter on the Capitol. A 
public thanksgiving festival, continuing for forty days, 
was proclaimed, and four brilliant triumphs for his vic- 
tories in Gaul, Egypt, Pontus, and Africa, were accorded 
to him. 

Never before in the history of Rome had such honors, 
which seemed to pass the human limit, been conferred 
on any Roman citizen. It was evident that of the Re- 
public nothing but the name remained, and that Caesar, 
the dictator, was in fact the absolute monarch of the 
immense Empire. Once more the friends of liberty made 

27 



FAMOUS ASSASSINATIONS 

an effort to shake off the yoke which Caesar had imposed 
on the Republic. They flocked to the standards of the 
sons of Pompey, but the bloody and hard-fought battle 
of Munda sealed their fate ; and Caesar, again victorious, 
remained the absolute master of the civilized world, — 
not without an enemy, but certainly without a rival. 

On his return to Rome new honors and new ovations 
awaited him. The dignity and pride of Roman citizen- 
ship seemed to have been lost entirely in the crouching 
servility with which the most distinguished and most 
highly stationed citizens prostrated themselves at the feet 
of the all-powerful ruler. Resistance to Caesar had ap- 
parently disappeared. All bowed to his surpassing genius 
and ability, and to these qualities he added acts of clem- 
ency, kindness, and gentleness, which won him the hearts 
even of those who, from political principle, had opposed 
him. But while thus openly the more than imperial power 
of Caesar was generally recognized, and while the Senate 
and the tribunes had been degraded to the position of 
mere tools to his autocratic will, there still remained in 
the hearts of a number of high-minded patriots the hope 
and anxious desire to save the republican form of gov- 
ernment from the grasping ambition of the conqueror, 
who was evidently not satisfied with being Imperator in 
fact, but wanted to be also Imperator in name. At least 
the repeated attempts of the most intimate friends and 
most trusted lieutenants of Caesar to induce him to accept 
the crown at the hands of a subservient people, and his 
rather hesitating conduct in refusing these proposals, 
seemed to confirm this suspicion. 

These enthusiastic Republicans cautiously disguised 
their hostility to the Imperator under the mask of devoted 

28 



JULIUS CESAR 

friendship. Their hope was, perhaps, that Caesar's im- 
perial regime would be but temporary and that, like Sulla, 
he would sooner or later get tired of his dictatorship, and 
resign his imperial honors. But Caesar did not think of ab- 
dicating the honors he had won ; on the contrary, every act 
and every public utterance of his indicated that he wished 
to prolong and augment them rather than to abandon 
them. In public he was anxious to show his preeminence. 
He appeared dressed in the costume of the kings of 
Alba, and with royal insignia. One day, when the entire 
Senate waited upon him in front of the temple of Venus, 
he remained seated while he was addressed, during the 
entire ceremony. His statue at the Capitol was placed 
beside those of the ancient kings of Rome, as though he 
were to continue their line. New titles of honor, not to 
say worship, were added to those which had been con- 
ferred upon him at the first moment of his brilliant vic- 
tories, and his lieutenants and followers welcomed and 
adopted them as something that was due to his super- 
human wisdom and greatness. He was called not only 
" Father of the Country," but " Demi-God," the " Invin- 
cible God," " Jupiter Julius," — as though Jupiter him- 
self had taken mortal form and shape in him. 

This public adoration irritated the Republicans we have 
mentioned, to the highest degree. They secretly charged 
Caesar with encouraging or instigating this worship of 
himself, because they knew that his friends would not 
have proposed it unless confident that he would be pleased 
by it. Brutus and Cassius were at the head of these Re- 
publicans. Brutus, a stern Republican, a Roman in the 
noblest acceptation of the word, was reputed to be Caesar's 
son, the offspring of an adulterous love-affair, and was 

29 



FAMOUS ASSASSINATIONS 

openly favored and distinguished by him. Cassius, a dis- 
tinguished general, was much more prompted by jealousy 
and envy than by civic virtue and republican principle. 
When these two men and their friends became thoroughly 
convinced that Caesar's ambition would stop at nothing, 
and that the new imperialistic regime was to be perma- 
nent, they came to the conclusion that nothing but Caesar's 
death could prevent these calamities. They therefore 
resolved to assassinate him. 

The ides of March (the fifteenth day of the month) 
in the year 44 b. c, was selected as the day of the assas- 
sination. The conspiracy had been formed with the 
greatest secrecy, but it came near failing at the eleventh 
hour. Caesar's wife had had dreams and presentiments 
of bad omen, and she persuaded him not to go to the 
Senate on that day. Very reluctantly he consented to 
remain at home. But Decimus Brutus, one of the con- 
spirators, who was afraid that the postponement of the 
assassination might lead to its discovery, went to Caesar's 
residence, ridiculed the dreams of a timid woman, and 
said he could not believe that they would influence the 
mind of the great Caesar. Then Caesar, half ashamed at 
having yielded to his wife's entreaties, accompanied him. 
On his way to the Senate a paper was handed to Caesar, 
which gave all the particulars of the conspiracy, and 
warned him not to go to the Senate session on the fif- 
teenth of March, because it was the day set for his assas- 
sination. But Caesar kept the paper in his hand without 
reading it. Under various pretexts, all the particular 
friends of Caesar had been kept from attending the session 
of the Senate, so that when he arrived, he was surrounded 
only by enemies or by those who were not considered his 

30 



JULIUS C^SAR 

friends. The conspirators acted promptly. Csesar was 
defenceless, and in a few minutes he lay prostrate, — a 
lifeless corpse, showing thirty-five wounds, many of 
which were absolutely fatal. The most celebrated of all 
political assassinations had been successful ; and by a 
peculiar irony of fate, the dying Caesar fell at the feet of 
the statue of Pompey, his great rival, whom he had van- 
quished at Pharsalus. His death did not, as the conspir- 
ators had hoped, prevent the establishment of the Empire ; 
it but delayed it for a few years. 

Caesar has had many worshippers and admirers, and 
comparatively few calumniators and belittlers. Unques- 
tionabl}' he was one of the most extraordinary geniuses 
that ever lived, equally great as a general and as a states- 
man, as an orator and as a historian. In the whole range 
of history there is but one man — Napoleon — who, in 
the vastness of his conceptions and the masterly perfec- 
tion of their execution, can be justly compared with him. 
All other men whom national vanity has occasionally 
placed by Caesar's side only suffer from the comparison ; 
their immense inferiority appears on even superficial in- 
vestigation. He was in fact the foremost man the world 
had seen to his day, and, but for his equally great rival 
in modern times, would still occupy the pinnacle of human 
greatness alone. Very likely, if he had lived, Rome would 
have been the happier. 



31 



CHAPTER IV 

TIBERIUS, CALIGULA, CLAUDIUS, 
NERO 




CALIGULA 



CHAPTER IV 

ASSASSINATIONS OF TIBERIUS, CALIGULA, CLAU- 
DIUS, NERO 

(A. D. 37-68.) 

AT the time of the assassination of Julius Caesar, the 
Roman people, and especially the higher classes, 
had reached a degree of perversity and degeneracy which 
appears to the modern reader almost incredible. They 
had become utterly unfit for self-government. The most 
atrocious public and private vices in both sexes had taken 
the place of the civic virtues and the private honor for 
which the ancient Roman had been famous the world 
over. In public life, corruption, venality, and bribery 
were general; a public office-holder was synonymous 
with a robber of the public treasury. Nepotism prevailed 
to an alarming degree, and the ablest men were uncere- 
moniously pushed aside for the incapable descendants of 
the nobility. In times like those, only the very strongest 
hand and the sternest character and mind can restrain the 
masses from falling into anarchy and civil war, and im- 
pose on society moderation and the rule of law. 

The assassination of Caesar had a most demoralizing 
effect on the Roman people. The hand of the master who 
might have controlled the unruly masses and restrained 
the degenerate nobility lay palsied in death ; the giant 

35 



FAMOUS ASSASSINATIONS 

intellect, which had embraced the civilized world in its 
dream of establishing a universal monarchy, thought no 
more ; and the results were chaos, anarchy, and civil war. 
The absence of the master mind was lamentably felt ; his 
heirs were unable to control the wild elements which the 
assassins had sset free ; and for many years, rapine, blood- 
shed, murder, and spoliation ruled supreme throughout 
the vast extent of the Roman Republic, until finally, in 
the year 30 b. c, Octavianus Augustus, Caesar's nephew, 
succeeded in establishing that imperium of which Caesar 
had dreamed, and for which his genius and his victories 
had paved the way. 

The imperial era, beginning with a display of magnifi- 
cence and splendor, both in military achievements and 
literary production, soon degenerated into an era of crime, 
which, at least in the highest classes of society, has never 
been equalled in history. Its worst feature was, perhaps, 
the utter degradation and depravity of the women even 
of the highest classes, and their readiness to sacrifice 
everything — chastity, shame, name, and reputation — 
to the gratification of their passions. Soon the women 
excelled the men in assassinating, by poison or dagger, 
their victims or rivals. Augustus, the first Emperor, 
showed on the throne much less cruelty than he had man- 
ifested as a triumvir; but Livia Drusilla, his third wife, 
was the first of those female monsters on the throne of 
the Caesars — Livia, Agrippina, Messalina, Domitia — 
who never shrank from murder, if by blood or poison 
they could rid themselves of a rival or of an obstacle 
to their criminal ambition. Livia, who wished Tiberius, 
her son by a former marriage, to be the successor of 
Augustus on the imperial throne, caused Marcellus (the 

36 




CLAUDIUS 



TIBERIUS, CALIGULA, CLAUDIUS, NERO 

husband of Julia, daughter of Augustus), and also 
JuHa's two sons, to be poisoned ; and by these crimes 
secured the succession for Tiberius. She is also sus- 
pected of having poisoned Augustus himself. 

Tiberius, the second of the Roman Emperors, lives 
immortal in history rather by his crimes than by his val- 
orous deeds. So does Caligula, the third, and Claudius, 
the fourth, and Nero, the fifth Emperor, — who were all 
assassinated after comparatively short reigns, but who 
had exhausted all forms of cruelty and crime ; while their 
wives, Messalina, Agrippina, and Poppasa will live in 
history forever as the unrivalled types of female de- 
pravity. Above all, Messalina, the wife of Claudius, who 
ruled from the year 41 to the year 54 of the Christian era, 
became notorious for every species of vice. In her libid- 
inous and voluptuous excesses, as well as in the demo- 
niacal conception of her murderous plots against her 
enemies, she was easily first and foremost, — the real 
empress of the vicious and fallen women of Rome: she 
became their open rival in the houses of ill-fame in her 
capital, she contended with them for the palm of obscenity 
and prostitution, and vanquished them all. 

Unless the great historians of Rome had recorded these 
excesses as facts abundantly substantiated by irrefutable 
testimony, the reports would have been relegated to the 
domain of fable, because they are too revolting to be 
believed without sufficient authority. Can the human 
mind conceive, for instance, an act of greater criminal 
insolence than that which the Empress Messalina com- 
mitted by marrying, publicly and under the very eyes of 
the capital, a young Roman aristocrat, Caius Silius, for 
whom she was inflamed with an adulterous passion, while 

37 



FAMOUS ASSASSINATIONS 

her husband, the Emperor, was but a few miles away at 
Ostia? And yet Tacitus, a stern and truthful historian, 
records this as an undeniable fact, adding that future 
generations will be loath to believe it. 

When, in the year 68 a. d., Nero expired by the dagger 
of a freedman, courage having failed him to commit 
suicide, the family of Caesar the Great became extinct, 
even in its adopted members. Only one hundred and 
twelve years had elapsed since the greatest of the Romans 
had fallen by the daggers of the Republican conspirators ; 
but that short period had sufficed to subvert the Republic 
and to erect a despotic Empire on its ruins, to flood the 
vast territory of Rome, which embraced the entire civil- 
ized world, with streams of blood, to place imbeciles and 
assassins on the throne of the Caesars, and to adorn the 
brows of courtesans and prostitutes, their partners in 
crime and depravity, with the imperial diadem. Never 
before in human history had human depravity and human 
lust displayed themselves more shamelessly ; never before 
had the beast in man shown its innate cruelty so boldly 
and so openly as during the reigns of these five Roman 
Emperors. It is almost a consolation for the sorrowing 
mind to read that Tiberius was choked to death ; that 
Caligula was beaten down and stabbed ; that Claudius 
was killed by a dish of poisonous mushrooms ; and that 
Nero, the last of Caesar's dynasty, was helped to his 
untimely death by the poniard of a freedman. Quick 
assassination was all too light a punishment for these 
monsters of iniquity who had so often feasted their eyes 
on the tortures of their innocent victims. 



38 



CHAPTER V 
HYPATIA 



CHAPTER V 

ASSASSINATION OF HYPATIA 
(A. D. 415.) 

NEVER, perhaps, did the wonderful genius of Alex- 
ander the Great appear to better advantage than 
when he selected Alexandria as a commercial centre and 
distributing point for the products of three continents, 
and as an intellectual focus from which Hellenic culture 
should be transmitted to those countries of Asia and 
Africa which his victories had opened to Greek civiliza- 
tion. The rapidity with which the city — to which Alex- 
ander had given his own name — grew to the dimensions 
of a great capital and a world-emporium, proved the 
sagacity and ingenious foresight of its founder, and was 
unrivalled among all the cities of the ancient world. It 
became the greatest seaport of the world, surpassing in 
the grandeur and magnificence of its buildings every 
other city except Rome itself ; and when, through the 
genius of the Ptolemies, the successors of Alexander as 
rulers of Egypt, the great library was added to its monu- 
ments and treasures of art, it became also the intellectual 
capital of the world, rivalling and in some respects eclips- 
ing the city of the Caesars. It is true, long before Alex- 
andria had reached its greatest prosperity, the creative 
power of Hellenic genius in the higher spheres of poetry 

41 



FAMOUS ASSASSINATIONS 

and philosophy had passed its zenith. In the so-called 
Alexandrian age of literature the most beautiful and most 
poetical inspirations were the idyls of Theocritus. But 
Alexandria was the first city in the ancient world which 
became the seat of a many-sided, methodical scholarship, 
and of systematic, zealous studies of the exact sciences, 
— a university in the modern sense. It also became the 
great library city of the world. 

It is true, the great library of inestimable value col- 
lected by Ptolemy Philadelphus (who also purchased the 
large library of Aristoteles) had been ruthlessly destroyed 
in the Alexandrian war of Julius Caesar. But Ptolemy 
Physcon collected a second valuable library, which was 
augmented by the splendid library of King Eumenes of 
Pergamus, and formed by far the grandest collection of 
books to be found in the world. Mark Antony gave this 
splendid library to Queen Cleopatra. It comprised the 
intellectual treasures of the ancient world, and was placed 
in a wing of the Serapeum, — in that gigantic and mag- 
nificent building which was the grandest temple of ancient 
Egypt and the pride of Alexandria. The great city of the 
Ptolemies, with a population of nearly a million souls, 
had also become a sort of neutral territory upon which all 
religions could meet on equal terms. The cosmopolitan 
character of this great commercial centre, in which Chris- 
tians, Jews, and pagans of all countries competed for the 
acquisition of wealth, made it natural for all these differ- 
ent citizens to live in harmony and mutual toleration. 
The time came, however, when Christianity was pro- 
claimed the official state religion under Theodosius the 
Great, upon whose instigation or order the Roman Senate 
(not by a unanimous, but by a simple majority vote) 

42 



HYPATIA 

passed a resolution declaring that the Christian religion 
should be the only true religion for the Roman Empire. 
This official declaration became the signal for a brutal 
persecution of the old religion throughout the Empire, 
and especially in its eastern provinces. Very prominent 
in this work of persecution and destruction was Theoph- 
ilus, Archbishop of Alexandria, who was famous far and 
wide as one of the great lights of the Church and as a 
man of exceptional piety, although many of his actions 
are utterly inexcusable from a moral point of view. 
Theophilus was in constant warfare with the pagans and 
Jews of Alexandria, who quite often joined hands in 
fighting him. But, as a rule, they were defeated by the 
pugnacious prelate, who, on such occasions, always found 
at his command a formidable army composed of the mob 
of the city and of the monks of the desert of Nitria, which 
was near the city. The main object of Theophilus's at- 
tacks was the great Serapeum, in which immense treas- 
ures of gold, silver, and sacred vessels were stored away, 
and which contained also the great collection of books, 
— a perfect armory of pagan philosophy, religion, and 
poetry, — which was especially obnoxious to him. By 
shrewdly misrepresenting the spirit of revolt among the 
Jews and pagans of the city, he succeeded in getting an 
edict from the Emperor authorizing him to destroy this 
temple of ancient wisdom and culture, — and, for the 
second time, the magnificent library of Alexandria was 
partly destroyed, partly scattered to the winds. 

The audacity of Theophilus had inflicted terrible de- 
feats on the non-Christian population of Alexandria, and 
had utterly disheartened it. On the other hand, the Chris- 
tian inhabitants showed by their increasing arrogance 

43 



FAMOUS ASSASSINATIONS 

that they were conscious of the supremacy of their church 
and of the exclusive protection to which their rehgion 
entitled them. However, in spite of this cruel discrim- 
ination there still remained at Alexandria a large and 
intelligent element true to the old religion, or rather to 
the old philosophy. 

Theophilus died in the year 412 a.d., and was succeeded 
by his nephew Kyrillos, better known as St. Cyril, who 
continued the vindictive policy against the Jews and 
pagans which his uncle had inaugurated. It was not 
long before Cyril had fanaticized the mob against the 
Jews to such an extent that the latter, driven to despair, 
took up arms against their aggressors, who had under- 
taken a regular crusade against their lives and property. 
Pitched battles and massacres took place in the streets of 
Alexandria. Hundreds of the unfortunate Jews were 
slain, and very likely the Jewish population would have 
been entirely exterminated or expelled from the city, had 
not Orestes, the imperial governor, interfered in their 
behalf, and defeated the infuriated mob and the monks 
of Nitria, who as usual had taken a hand in the fight. 
But it was a long and stubbornly contested battle. Al- 
though Cyril personally did not show himself, it was 
nevertheless well known that he directed the attacks 
against the Jews from his hiding-place. Moreover all his 
most intimate friends actively participated in the riot and 
strenuously resisted the efforts of the governor to restore 
peace. 

One of these friends personally assaulted and seriously 
wounded the governor. After the revolt had been quelled, 
this man was put on trial and sentenced to death. In 
vain Cyril appealed for mercy and tried to save the life 

44 



HYPATIA 

of the accused man. Orestes was implacable, and the 
condemned man was executed. The disdain with which 
he had been treated by the governor, enraged the prel- 
ate and stimulated him to revenge. A large procession 
of priests and citizens took the body of the criminal 
from the gibbet and carried it to the principal church 
of Alexandria, where the Archbishop read high mass 
and delivered a sermon full of admiration and eulogy 
for the victim, filling the hearts of the congregation 
with hatred and contempt for the authorities, and in- 
voking the punishment of Heaven upon their heads. 
But even this public demonstration did not satisfy the 
Archbishop ; and with consummate cruelty he hit upon 
a plan for deeply wounding the governor without at- 
tacking him personally. 

At that time there lived at Alexandria a young lady of 
great talent and renown. Her name was Hypatia. She 
was the daughter of Theon, a celebrated mathematician 
who lived at Alexandria, and whose genius for mathe- 
matics she seemed to have inherited. She first became his 
pupil, but soon surpassed him in ability and reputation. 
She also applied herself with great zeal and rare penetra- 
tion to the study of the philosophy of Plato, whom she 
greatly admired and much preferred to Aristotle. Since 
Alexandria had no professors superior to herself in at- 
tainments and learning, Hypatia went to Greece and for 
several years attended the lectures of the most famous 
professors of Athens. She then returned to Alexandria, 
and was immediately invited by the authorities to the 
chair of philosophy in the University. Hypatia accepted 
this honor and filled the position with brilliant success. It 
was not only her profound and extensive learning, em- 

45 



FAMOUS ASSASSINATIONS 

bracing the entire compass of the exact sciences, but also 
the charm of her persuasive and mellifluous eloquence 
which filled her hearers with admiration. 

Her reputation as a public lecturer soon equalled her 
renown as a mathematician and philosopher, and a num- 
ber of the most distinguished men of Alexandria and 
other cities were among her regular disciples, listening 
with delight to her dissertations. One of her most enthu- 
siastic students was Syuesius, afterwards Bishop of Ptol- 
emais, who always held her in affectionate reverence, al- 
though she had steadily refused to profess the Christian 
religion. Orestes, the governor, was also among the 
number of her admirers and was frequently seen at her 
lectures, which were attended by Christians as well as by 
pagans. To the great qualities of her mind were added 
rare physical beauty and a suavity of manners which won 
the hearts of all those who became acquainted with her. 
Several of Alexandria's most prominent citizens desired 
to marry her, but she refused all proposals because she 
wanted to live only for the sciences to which she had 
devoted her life. In spite of her great popularity and 
the steadily increasing number of admirers, Hypatia's 
reputation was spotless ; she had many friends, but never 
had a lover. While this eminent woman's celebrity as a 
thinker — which entirely eclipsed his own — would have 
been sufficient to fill the heart of Cyril with envy and 
jealousy, there was an additional reason for his hatred 
and hostility. Orestes, the governor, was a frequent vis- 
itor at her house and was known to consult her frequently 
on important public questions. The Archbishop, perhaps 
justly, attributed to Hypatia's influence the governor's 
evident leaning toward paganism and his open admiration 

46 



HYPATIA 

for the philosophical doctrines of the Greek philosophers. 
Seeking for a victim on whom to vent his spite against 
Orestes, he therefore selected Hypatia as the one whose 
destruction would hurt him most deeply, while at the same 
time it would deliver himself and the church from their 
most dangerous opponent. It was comparatively easy for 
him to inflame the minds of the ignorant masses with 
rage against the woman who was represented to them as 
the implacable enemy of their religion, and whose perni- 
cious teachings had led so many others from the path of 
virtue and salvation. 

Everything was carefully but secretly prepared for the 
fatal blow, which was struck in the month of March, 415. 
It was a beautiful sunny day, and Hypatia got ready to 
proceed to the University, where she was to lecture that 
forenoon. A carriage was waiting for her at the door of 
her residence. When she entered the carriage she was 
surprised at the unusual number of people filling the 
street, and at the great number of monks passing through 
their ranks and apparently haranguing them. She could 
not account for this strange gathering, for it was not a 
Christian holiday, nor was any civil procession to come 
off that morning. 

All at once she noticed that this great assemblage 
of people began to move in the direction of her own 
house. As it came nearer she heard wild exclamations 
and threats, without comprehending, however, that she 
was the object of this hostile demonstration. At the head 
of the procession marched Peter, the reader, one of the 
most fanatical of the priests of the city ; he had played 
a very prominent part in the previous riots, and was 
evidently the leader in this new movement. With grow- 

47 



FAMOUS ASSASSINATIONS 

ing astonishment Hypatia saw them coming, but in the 
consciousness of her innocence she had no fear. She was 
soon to be cruelly disabused. 

As soon as the rioters were within a few hundred feet 
of her residence and saw her seated in her carriage ready 
to start, the leaders and those in the front rank rushed 
toward her. Peter, the reader, was the first to reach her 
and to lay hands on her. As she recoiled from his touch 
in terror, others climbed upon the wheels of the carriage 
and dragged her down into the street. She resisted and 
called for help, but her cries died away unheard in the 
tumult of the roaring and jeering multitude who sur- 
rounded the carriage and with ever-increasing violence 
uttered threats against her. 

Popular excitement is a flame which feeds itself by the 
electric current emanating from thousands of impassioned 
and excited minds. It is ready on slight provocation to 
burst forth in all-devouring violence. But a few minutes 
had passed from the moment the procession reached 
Hypatia's carriage until the infuriated mob, holding the 
victim firmly in their grasp, had torn the garments from 
her body and hurried her with wild cheers and laughter 
to the Csesarium, the great Christian church. Paralyzed 
with fear, unable to utter anything but screams and cries 
for help, she was dragged, in a state of perfect nudity, 
through the streets, and neither her helplessness nor her 
beauty softened the hearts of her tormentors and mur- 
derers. She was doomed to die, to be sacrificed at a 
Christian altar, atoning for her unbelief and her perni- 
cious teachings with her life. One of her own friends, 
like herself adhering to the ancient cult and to Platonic 
philosophy, fitly compared Hypatia's murder to the sacri- 

48 



HYPATIA 

fice of a Greek goddess by drunken and infuriated bar- 
barians. But the crowning infamy of this assassination, 
as brutal as any that history has recorded, was that the 
victim was dragged to the church of Christ, — Christ, the 
incarnation of love and mercy, — and slaughtered there 
amidst the yells and curses of the so-called believers. 

Hundreds of women had swelled the mob, and like the 
men they were brandishing flints, shells, and broken pot- 
tery, with which to cut and lacerate their victim that they 
might feast their eyes on her agony. 

Charles Kingsley has given in his famous novel, 
" Hypatia," a heart-rending description of the last mo- 
ments of the illustrious woman-philosopher. The descrip- 
tion may not be accurate in every little detail, but Mr. 
Kingsley sees the scene with the eye and with the imagi- 
nation of a poet, and his description is poetically true. 
Our readers will thank us for quoting his words in ren- 
dering this final scene : — 

" Whither were they dragging her ? . . . On into the church 
itself! Into the cool dim shadow, with its fretted pillars, and 
lowering domes, and candles, and incense, and blazing altar, and 
great pictures looking from the walls athwart the gorgeous gloom; 
and right in front, above the altar, the colossal Christ watching 
unmoved from off the wall, his right hand raised to give a blessing 
— or a curse? 

" On, up the nave, fresh shreds of her dress strewing the holy 
pavement — up the chancel steps themselves — right underneath 
the great, still Christ : and there even those hell-hounds paused. 
. . . She shook herself free from her tormentors, and springing 
back, rose for one moment to her full height, naked, snow-white 
against the dusky mass around — shame and indignation in those 
wide, clear eyes, but not a stain of fear. With one hand she 
clasped her golden locks around her; the other long white arm 
was stretched upward toward the great still Christ, appealing — 
4 49 



FAMOUS ASSASSINATIONS 

and who dare say in vain? — from man to God. Her lips were 
open to speak; but the words that should have come from them 
reached God's ear alone ; for in an instant Peter struck her down, 
the dark mass closed over her again . . . and then wail on wail, 
long, wild, ear-piercing, ran along the vaulted roofs. . . . What in 
the name of the God of mercy were they doing? Tearing her 
piece-meal? Yes, and worse than that! ... It was over. The 
shrieks had died away into moans, the moans to silence. ... A 
new cry rose through the dome : ' To the Cinaron ! Burn the 
bones to ashes ! Scatter them into the sea ! ' " 

In the whole annals of crime not a more heart-rending 
and more brutal scene can be found than the murder of 
Hypatia. The assassination of the beautiful young Prin- 
cess de Lamballe, the friend of Marie Antoinette, during 
the worst days of the French Revolution, bears some 
resemblance to it; but, after all, poHtical fanaticism is 
never equal in its intensity and cruelty to religious fanat- 
icism. Moreover, the fate of Hypatia shows that not all 
the martyrs were on the side of Christianity in the early 
ages of the Christian church. It should be stated, how- 
ever, that a general cry of horror resounded through the 
world when the terrible news of Hypatia's death crossed 
the seas and was echoed from land to land, and that the 
Christian Church, by its most illustrious representatives, 
was loud in its denunciation of the murder. 

Upon the fame and name of St, Cyril the murder of 
Hypatia has left a lasting stain ; for the plan and exe- 
cution were generally attributed to him. Even Catholic 
Church historians, both ancient and modern, criticise him 
severely for his imprudent and ill-advised instigations 
against Hypatia and her followers, although they try 
to protect his memory against the reproach of having 
intentionally caused her death. 

50 



CHAPTER VI 
THOMAS A BECKET 




THOMAS A BECKET 



CHAPTER VI 

ASSASSINATION OF THOMAS A BECKET 
(December 29, 1170) 

ONE of the most remarkable careers and one of the 
most famous assassinations in the middle ages were 
the career and the assassination of Thomas a Becket, 
Archbishop of Canterbury. His life (at least after he had 
been elevated to the Primacy of England) and his death 
show him as the great representative of the Church of 
Rome, standing up for the defence of its rights and dying 
in their defence ; and they show also how necessary, in 
those dark ages, was a superhuman power, to hold the 
arrogance and brute force of warriors and princes in 
check, and bring into subjection their unbridled passions 
and their insolent usurpations. Even if Thomas a Becket 
miserably perished in his bold resistance to kingly as- 
sumption, his death was a wholesome lesson to the tyrants 
on European thrones, and raised him higher in the esti- 
mation of the world than a victory over King Henry the 
Second would have done. 

Thomas Becket, or, as he is oftener called, Thomas a 
Becket, rose to his eminent station in State and Church 
from comparatively low birth. He was born in 1119, the 
son of a London merchant and an Oriental mother. This 
lady had followed the merchant to England after his 

53 



FAMOUS ASSASSINATIONS 

return from the Holy Land, where he had been a cru- 
sader. The merchant rapidly acquired wealth, and was 
able to give his son, who was distinguished by brilliant 
talents, a splendid education. After having studied for 
some time at Oxford, the young man was permitted to 
complete his studies at the University of Paris, which at 
that time attracted students from all parts of Europe by 
the reputation of its professors and the superiority of its 
methods of instruction. From Paris Thomas went to 
Bologna, in order to study theology ; by his travels and 
the application and zeal with which he pursued his 
studies, he acquired an exceptional reputation for the 
extent, variety, and depth of his knowledge. On his 
return from Italy Archbishop Theobald of Canterbury 
was charmed with the attainments and learning of the 
young man, and recommended him to the King for the 
appointment of Chancellor. The King appointed him and 
made him also the tutor of his son. In the position of 
Chancellor he ingratiated himself with the King, and his 
counsels in matters of State and of importance to the 
crown proved so valuable that the King soon distinguished 
him above all other courtiers and officials, and treated 
him more as a friend than as a subject. 

Having inherited immense wealth from his father, and 
having, moreover, been endowed by the munificence of 
the King with a number of offices and benefices from 
which he derived large revenues, the Chancellor made a 
great display of splendor and wealth. His household 
eclipsed almost that of the King himself, and looked more 
like the court of a prince than the household of a citizen. 
However, he neglected no opportunity to show his loyalty 
and devotion to the King. In 1159 he accompanied the 

54 



THOMAS A BECKET 

King to Toulouse, with a retinue of seven hundred 
knights and twelve hundred mounted men, all of whom 
he had equipped at his own expense. The King also in- 
trusted him with a confidential mission to Paris, where 
he was to negotiate the marriage of the King's eldest son 
with the eldest daughter of the King of France. The 
Chancellor succeeded in concluding a family alliance 
between the two courts, and conducted the young princess 
personally to England. 

In 1 162 Theobald, Archbishop of Canterbury, died, 
and King Henry the Second immediately declared that 
Thomas a Becket should be his successor. When the 
King's plan to make him Archbishop was mentioned to 
Becket, he protested against it, and it would seem, sin- 
cerely. He even went so far as to tell the King, when the 
latter urged him to work for his election, that he was 
making a mistake in advocating his elevation to the See 
of Canterbury, using these words : " If I should be raised 
to that office, you would soon hate me as much as you 
now love me; for you will meddle in the affairs of the 
Church more than I can consent to, and people will not 
be wanting to embroil us." But the King laughed at 
these warnings. He supposed that Becket, as Archbishop, 
would be as complaisant and willing a tool to assist him 
in curtailing the prerogatives of the Church and transfer- 
ring them to the crown, as he had been on a former occa- 
sion. He therefore continued to Use his influence in favor 
of Becket's election, and succeeded in placing him in the 
Archbishop's See. At tifst the Pope objected to his 
election, but he finally ratified it in order to please the 
kings of England and France, who had both appealed to 
him in Becket's behalf. 

55 



FAMOUS ASSASSINATIONS 

No sooner had Becket been installed as Archbishop of 
Canterbury — which dignity carried with it that of Pri- 
mate of England — than he entirely changed his mode of 
living. No more luxury, no more display of wealth, no 
more horses or magnificent costumes for him ! On the 
contrary, the new Archbishop ostentatiously chose the 
coarsest and plainest garments. Instead of the fine lace 
shirt of former days he wore a coarse haircloth, dirty in 
the extreme, and his outer garments were frequently 
ragged. His food was of the plainest quality, consisting 
of bread, water, and skimmed milk. He affected auster- 
ity in every way, frequently flogged himself for impure 
thoughts or nominal sins which he might have com- 
mitted, and every day he knelt and washed the feet of 
thirteen beggars. He resigned his office as Chancellor 
in order to devote all his time and zeal to his new office 
and the affairs of the Church. 

The King did not like the change in the Archbishop's 
ways, and protested against his resignation, but Becket 
would not reconsider it. The King rightly guessed that 
there might be a hidden meaning and a secret ambi- 
tion in the Archbishop's sudden conversion to Christian 
humility, which so strangely contrasted with his past 
conduct. The storm between the two mighty men, each 
self-willed and irascible, was brewing, and when it finally 
broke out, it was fierce and relentless. It never ended 
until the prelate lay prostrate as a victim of assassins 
before the altar of the church which he tried to protect 
from the King's usurpation. 

It was not long before the conflict broke out. It then 
appeared that the change which had taken place in Becket 
was not confined to the outer man only, but had also 

56 



THOMAS A BECKET 

affected his relation to the Church and the State. From 
a King's counsellor and servant he had suddenly turned 
to be the counsellor and servant of the Church, and he 
carried over into his new station the impulsiveness and 
stubbornness which had always distinguished him in the 
service of the King. It is difficult to say which of the two, 
in this struggle for ascendency, was right, or rather which 
of the two was the more to blame. For while the King 
was aggressive, arrogant, domineering, in the conscious- 
ness of his power, the Archbishop was imperious, inso- 
lent, and inconsistent, inasmuch as he now boldly con- 
demned what he had formerly counselled. But it seemed 
to be a trait of Becket's character, that he always devoted 
himself unconditionally to the master he served at the 
time, and that from the moment he abandoned the service 
of the King for that of the Church it was quite natural 
for him to defend the interests and rights of the latter 
against the usurpations of the former. 

At that time a priest who had committed any crime 
could be tried by an ecclesiastical court only ; conse- 
quently very few criminals of this class were convicted 
and adequately punished ; in most cases the accused, even 
if found guilty, were only reprimanded and degraded. 
This abuse was carried to such excess that during the 
first years of the reign of Henry the Second no less than 
one hundred murders committed by priests had not been 
punished. A priest had seduced the daughter of a gentle- 
man living in Worcestershire, and, confronted by the 
angry father of the girl, assassinated him. Public in- 
dignation was aroused by this atrocity to such an extent 
that the King ordered the arrest of the guilty priest and 
his trial before a civil tribunal. Becket protested against 

57 



FAMOUS ASSASSINATIONS 

this order, claiming that it was an infringement of the 
prerogatives of the Church. He ordered an ecclesiastical 
court to investigate the charges, and the result was as 
usual, that the punishment awarded was only degradation. 
The King was furious. He made up his mind to beat the 
Archbishop at his own game and to punish him for his 
presumption. He therefore submitted the question of 
ecclesiastical immunities and of church prerogatives to 
a council of jurists and ordered them to investigate 
whether these prerogatives were founded on a solid his- 
torical basis. The jurists knew what sort of decision the 
King wanted, and they gave it. Thereupon the King 
convened a general council of the high nobility and also 
of the Church at Clarendon, and there, among other re- 
strictions placed upon the Church, it was enacted that 
members of the clergy indicted for a crime should be 
tried by civil tribunals, exactly like other subjects. 

Becket, seeing that all the barons and many prelates 
had submitted to the decree of the council, was compelled 
to yield, and swore to obey it ; but his submission was 
caused only by his powerlessness. But when this so- 
called Constitution of Clarendon was sent to the Pope 
for ratification, he rejected it haughtily and condemned 
it in the most energetic manner. Thereupon Becket, 
basing his action on the condemnation of the Pope, openly 
retracted the consent which he had given to the Clarendon 
decree, and subjected himself to great austerities and 
macerations proportionate to the greatness of the sin he 
had committed in yielding to the royal demands. He even 
refused to perform any functions connected with his 
episcopal rank until the Pope had acquitted him of his 
great wrong against the Church. This action made the 

58 



THOMAS A BECKET 

rupture between the King and the Archbishop irreparable. 
Henry swore to have his revenge on a priest who was not 
only an ingrate but a perjurer. He arraigned him before 
a parliament convened at Northampton in 1165 as a rebel, 
as having violated his oath of allegiance. Becket was 
convicted, his personal estate was confiscated, the rev- 
enues of his archbishopric were seized, and Becket him- 
self, abandoned even by his clergy, fled to France, whose 
King, in spite of the protests of Henry, offered him a 
refuge. 

Becket's spirit was far from being broken. From his 
retreat in France he wrote to the bishops of England that 
the Pope had annulled the Constitution of Clarendon, and 
at the same time he excommunicated a number of those, 
bishops as well as other high officials, who had assisted 
in violating the sacred rights of the Church. The King 
answered by exiling all his relatives from England, and 
forbidding his subjects to correspond with him, or to 
send him money ; he even forbade prayers in behalf of 
the Archbishop to be offered in church. 

But the conditions between the Church and the court 
created by this conflict were such that the King found it 
expedient to make overtures of reconciliation to Becket, 
first through the bishops and church officials of England, 
and afterwards personally. In a conference which he 
held for that purpose with the King of France, he said to 
the latter : " There have been several kings of England, 
some more and others less powerful than myself; there 
have been also several Archbishops of Canterbury, in my 
opinion as respectable and as sainted as Thomas a Becket ; 
let him show to me the same deference which the greatest 
of his predecessors have shown to the least powerful of 

59 



FAMOUS ASSASSINATIONS 

my predecessors, and there will be no controversy be- 
tween us." King Henry also offered to take the clergy 
of France as umpires in the questions at issue ; but when 
Becket stubbornly refused to be reconciled to the King of 
England, the King of France lost his patience and with- 
drew the protection which up to that day he had accorded 
to him. 

These and other changes unfavorable to him finally 
induced Becket to lend to the King's proposals of recon- 
ciliation a more willing ear, and at last an interview took 
place between them which resulted in their reconciliation 
— apparently at least. The interview was much more 
cordial than might have been supposed from the exceed- 
ingly strained relations that had existed between them for 
years. The Archbishop approached the King as became 
a subject, and the King met him with the humility shown 
at that time to princes of the Church ; when they parted, 
Becket bent his knee to the King, who held the stirrup of 
his horse as the Archbishop mounted. The interview 
had resulted in settling their differences. Both had made 
concessions, but the larger part of these had been made 
by the King. All the Archbishop's personal property had 
also been restored to him ; he thereupon agreed to return 
to England and resume the functions of his office. He 
had been absent seven years. 

The people at large, and especially the poor, greeted 
him with enthusiasm ; but the barons kept away, and 
some of them showed open hostility to the Archbishop, 
or mysteriously hinted at a speedy ending of his newly 
regained honors. His arrival in England had been pre- 
ceded by a messenger from the Pope carrying writs of 
excommunication for three English bishops who had been 

60 



THOMAS A BECKET 

especially hostile to Becket. These bishops immediately 
went to Normandy, where Henry the Second had re- 
mained, and laid their complaints before him, laying all 
the blame on Becket, whom they charged with inflaming 
the people of England against their King and sowing 
discord in their hearts. When these matters were laid 
before him, and also a statement that Becket had ex- 
commvmicated two barons whom he considered his spe- 
cial enemies, the King got into a rage and exclaimed : 
" What ? Is there among the cowards whom I feed at 
my table not one brave enough to deliver me from this 
firebrand of a priest ? " These words could have but one 
meaning. Four of the barons took it upon themselves to 
deliver the King from the obnoxious priest. The King 
afterwards declared that he had never intended to suggest 
the assassination of Becket ; but what other construction 
could be given to his words? The assassination itself 
was one of the most dramatic in history. The Vv'ould-be 
murderers travelled in such haste that a messenger whom 
the King sent after them to warn them not to kill Becket 
could not overtake them. Arriving at Canterbury on 
December 29, 1170, they, with twelve other noblemen, 
went to the Archbishop's residence, and expostulated with 
him concerning the excommunication of certain priests 
and barons, and when he refused to revoke the excom- 
munications, the barons left him with threats. They 
returned toward evening. The bell of the church was 
ringing for vespers, and the Archbishop had gone there. 
The priests wanted to close and barricade the doors, but 
he objected. " The doors of the house of God should 
not be barricaded like a fortress ! " said he. Just then the 
assassins came in, brandishing their swords and calling 

61 



FAMOUS ASSASSINATIONS 

for the traitor. The priests surrounding the Archbishop 
fled in terror ; only his cross-bearer stayed with him. It 
was so dark that neither the intruders nor the priest could 
be seen distinctly. Another voice called : " Where is the 
Archbishop?" "I am here," answered Becket. "I am 
no traitor, but only a priest of the Lord ! " They were 
afraid to kill him in the holy precincts. Once more they 
asked him to absolve those he had excommunicated. He 
refused, because they had not repented. " Then you 
shall die ! " they cried. " I am ready, in the name of the 
Saviour," he answered ; " but I forbid you, by the Lord 
Almighty, to touch any of these present, priests or lay- 
men." They heeded him not, but rushed upon him, and 
with three or four thrusts from their swords, one of them 
splitting his skull, laid him prostrate at the foot of the 
altar. 

The murderers hurried back to Normandy to get their 
reward. The news of the murder, when it reached the 
ears of the King, struck terror into his heart. He knew 
he was, and would be held, responsible for Becket's death. 
Fear seized him, that he would feel the Pope's wrath, that 
he would be excommunicated, that England and his pos- 
sessions in France would be placed under an interdict, 
that the Saxon population of England, which already 
revered Becket as a saint, might rise in open rebellion 
against him. He therefore made haste to disclaim pub- 
licly any complicity in the murder, and sent an ambassador 
to the Pope to assure him of his entire innocence and of 
his profound grief at the bloody deed. The Pope at first 
refused to receive the ambassador, and it was only by 
means of many prayers, promises, and humble suppli- 
cations that he finally absolved the King of intentional 

62 



THOMAS A BECKET 

complicity in the heinous crime. The King actually pur- 
chased this absolution by pledging himself to support, 
during three years, two hundred well-equipped horsemen 
for the protection of the Holy Sepulchre. 

But even this act of papal absolution was not deemed 
sufficient by the King to protect him from the evil con- 
sequences of the assassination. To remove this danger 
the King two years afterwards undertook a pilgrimage 
to the tomb of Becket, who had in the meantime been 
buried in the Cathedral with royal honors. As soon as 
the steeple of the Cathedral appeared on the horizon, the 
King dismounted, and proceeded on his way barefooted, 
his bleeding feet leaving a spot of blood at every step. 
On his arrival at the tomb he prostrated himself, and 
subjected himself to the humiliation of a severe flagella- 
tion at the hands of the monks, each of whom applied to 
his bare back three strokes from a knotted rope. 

Having undergone this public chastisement, the King 
remained praying and fasting the following night, pros- 
trated on the tombstone. Next morning he returned to 
London, where, immediately after his arrival, he fell 
seriously ill from the effects of his pilgrimage. 

The Pope canonized the martyr who had so heroically 
died in the defence of the prerogatives of the Church. 



63 



CHAPTER VII 
GESSLER 




GESSLER 



CHAPTER VII 

ASSASSINATION OF GESSLER 
(A.D. 1307.) 

THE assassination of Julius Caesar and of the first 
Roman Emperors led to greater demoralization 
of the people, and thereafter to anarchy, bloodshed, civil 
war, and ultimately to an atrocious despotism ; but at an 
interval of twelve hundred and forty years after the 
death of Nero there occurred a political assassination, 
growing out of personal revenge, which freed a whole 
people from oppression and placed the murderer among 
the heroes of mankind and the liberators of nations. We 
speak of William Tell, the national hero of Switzerland, 
who in 1307 deliberately murdered Gessler, ^he Austrian 
governor. 

This governor, who resided at the castle of Kuessnacht, 
had committed the greatest outrages and acts of despotism 
against the inhabitants of his gubernatorial district, em- 
bracing the so-called three Waldstadte (Forest Cantons), 
— Uri, Schwyz, and Unterwalden. Until then these For- 
est Cantons had enjoyed a republican government, and 
had given to the German Empire a merely nominal rec- 
ognition, by acknowledging the German Emperor as their 
suzerain. There is a great resemblance in the relations 
between these Swiss Cantons and the German Empire to 

67 



FAMOUS ASSASSINATIONS 

the relations which existed, before the South African 
war, between the two Boer RepubUcs and the crown of 
England. Rudolph of Hapsburg, himself a Swiss by 
birth, who had been elected German Emperor, had pur- 
sued a liberal policy toward the Cantons and in special 
charters had guaranteed to them their inherited rights 
and liberties. But his son Albrecht the First, who suc- 
ceeded Rudolph on the imperial throne, resolved to do 
away with these prerogatives, deprive the Swiss Cantons 
of their independence, and make them subject to the 
crown of Aiistria. Theretofore the German Emperors 
had been represented in a few cities of Switzerland by 
bailiffs, who exerted the same authority in the Cantons 
as our federal judges in United States Territories; but 
Albrecht changed their duties and authority entirely, in- 
vesting them with many additional powers, so that they 
became practically governors of their districts, appointed 
by the Emperor and administering their office as imperial 
officials. 

Against this change the inhabitants of the Cantons 
entered their solemn protests ; they sent delegations to 
Albrecht to remonstrate with him ; but he gave evasive 
answers, increased the soldiery protecting the governors, 
shut his ears to all complaints about their arrogance and 
growing usurpation, and secretly encouraged them " to 
do all in their power to break the stubborn resistance 
of these uncouth mountaineers and boors, and make 
them obedient subjects of the Austrian crown." To the 
strong men of the Cantons, who had never bowed their 
necks under the yoke of a foreign despot, the tyranny 
of these Austrian governors became intolerable ; their 
leading men made up their minds to throw it off by all 

68 



GESSLER 

means, and to maintain their independence at any cost. 
Even the members of the nobility scattered through the 
Cantons were indignant at the arbitrary and haughty 
ways of the imperial bailiffs, who treated them with the 
same arrogance as they treated the common people ; they 
therefore made common cause with the latter, so that 
practically the imperial officials were isolated in a hostile 
country, without friends or party. 

The public discontent culminated in a secret conspir- 
acy, of which Walter Fuerst of Uri, Werner Stauffacher 
of Schwyz, and Arnold Melchthal of Unterwalden, were 
the originators. These three men, each a representative 
and influential citizen of his own Canton, met at the house 
of Walter Fuerst and agreed to meet for further consul- 
tation on the Ruetli, an elevated plateau, hidden in the 
woods, near the lake of Uri, on certain nights, each un- 
dertaking to bring along ten men tried and true, who had 
promised to act with them, for life and death, for the 
deliverance of their country. They also pledged them- 
selves by oath to keep this league a secret from all but 
the initiated, who like themselves had sworn to cooperate 
for the deliverance of the country, until the time had come 
for united action on one and the same day. This was 
done in the fall of 1307. A later consultation of the con- 
spirators on the Ruetli took place some weeks afterwards, 
and was attended by the three leaders and thirty others. 
They were all full of enthusiasm and hope of victory. 
They all pledged the almost unanimous support of the 
inhabitants of the three Cantons, and finally agreed that 
the people should rise in rebellion on New Year's Day, 
1308. The humane feature of this proposed revolution 
appears from their joint agreement, affirmed under oath, 

69 



FAMOUS ASSASSINATIONS 

that, in expelling the Austrian governors and their fol- 
lowers from their castles and their country, they would 
not kill them except in self-defence, but would treat them 
with leniency and charity. Is it not as if we heard Oom 
Krueger and his friends of the Transvaal and Orange 
Free State counsel on measures for their independence? 
They placed their full confidence in the justice of their 
cause, the assistance of God, and their own bravery. 

The day for the execution of their plot was anticipated 
by an unforeseen event. Gessler, the Governor of Uri 
and Schwyz, had made himself especially odious by all 
sorts of petty acts of tyranny. Among these was an 
order that the ducal hat of Austria was to be placed on 
the top of a long pole to be erected on the market space 
of Altorf and that nobody should pass by it without 
uncovering his head and showing it respect as if the 
Duke of Austria (Albrecht, Emperor of Germany) him- 
self were there. The citizens generally complied with the 
order. But one day William Tell and his little son passed 
by the hat without minding Gessler's order. William 
Tell was the son-in-law of Walter Fuerst, one of the 
three leaders of the Ruetli conspiracy, and, like Walter 
Fuerst himself, he was looked upon with suspicion by 
the Austrian authorities. The openness with which he 
ignored Gessler's order was immediately construed as 
an act of defiance and rebellion. He was taken before 
Gessler, and the cruel bailiff imposed upon him a punish- 
ment which, he thought, would wound him to the heart. 

" Tell," said he to him, " by your act of disobedience 
you have forfeited your life. But I will be merciful to 
-you," and pointing to Tell's crossbow, he continued : 
" You have the reputation of being the best archer of 

70 



GESSLER 

our Canton, if not of all Switzerland. I have never seen 
a test of your skill yet ; very well, let your skill be tried 
now, and if it is as great as your reputation it will save 
your life. There is an apple. Place it upon your boy's 
head, and at a distance of thirty steps shoot it with an 
arrow. But take good aim ! For, if you hit the boy, 
your life will pay for it ! " 

William Tell complied with the cruel order, and with 
his usual masterly skill brought down the apple from the 
boy's head. Gessler was enraged at the result, and, be- 
fore dismissing Tell, he asked him with an insidious 
smile : " Now tell me, William Tell, why did you take 
two arrows from your quiver before you took aim at 
the apple on your boy's head? Tell me sincerely, and 
whatever your answer may be, your life shall not be 
imperilled." 

Carried away by his wrath. Tell contemptuously re- 
plied: "If I had missed my aim and hit my boy, the 
second arrow was for you, and, by God Almighty, it 
would not have gone astray ! " 

" That 's what I thought," cried Gessler, and turning 
to his escort he ordered them to put Tell in chains and 
take him to the boat on the lake. " Your life," said he 
to Tell, " is not in peril ; but I wall take you to my 
castle in Kuessnacht ; there in one of the darkest dun- 
geons underground you shall be imprisoned, and may 
find time to repent the rebellious words which you have 
uttered ! " 

In the immediate neighborhood of Kuessnacht, on a 
mountain top overlooking the town, was the fortified 
castle where Gessler resided. It was on the way to 
that residence that Tell did the act by which he satis- 

71 



FAMOUS ASSASSINATIONS 

fied his personal revenge and also freed his country 
from the bloody tyranny of the despot. While Gessler 
and his prisoner were crossing the lake, a storm arose, 
which endangered the boat. The fury of the tempest 
filled the hearts of the boatmen with dismay and terror, 
and tremblingly they turned to Gessler, saying : " The 
boldest and most skilful boatman in the Canton is Tell. 
He may be able to save the boat, but we cannot! Set 
him free and he may bring us safe to port." 

Gessler ordered the chains to be removed from Tail's 
limbs and ordered him to take the helm, promising him 
life, liberty, and a full pardon if he should bring them 
safe into port. Tell took the helm, and the boat, obedient 
to its master's hand, sped through the storm-tossed waves 
like a seabird dancing on the surface. But turning round 
a rock-bound bluff close to the shore. Tell suddenly took 
up his cross-bow lying on the bench near by, and with 
mighty leap jumped on the rock, hurling the boat far 
back into the hissing and tempestuous flood. 

Gessler also escaped from the watery grave, but only 
to meet his doom on land even before he had reached his 
home. Tell was lying in ambush on the road from the 
lake to Kuessnacht. It was the road which Gessler and 
his party had to take on their return to the castle, if they 
should succeed in effecting a landing on the shore. After 
some time Gessler, accompanied by a few friends, came 
in sight. No sooner had the party entered the defile than 
Gessler, shot through the heart by Tell's unerring arrow, 
fell from his horse. 

Tell's shot was the signal for the general uprising of 
the people of Switzerland. Years of struggle and war- 
fare against Austria's nobility and armed forces followed 

72 



GESSLER 

Tell's heroic act, but the entire independence of Switzer- 
land was finally secured. Switzerland is to this day a 
free and independent republic, and Tell's name shines 
with imperishable lustre not only as its great national 
hero, but also among the immortal patriots and libera- 
tors of mankind. 

We are well aware that recent historical criticism has 
expressed doubt as to Tell's great act of deliverance, and 
even as to his existence, and that in some histories the 
tale is simply relegated to the domain of legend and tradi- 
tion. But there is no real justification for this decision. 
It is founded only on a statement in the chronicle of Saxo 
Grammaticus recording a feat of archery in Scandinavia 
similar to that of William Tell, and performed hundreds 
of years before Tell's day. 

As Johannes von Mueller, the great historian, judi- 
ciously says : *' It shows but scanty knowledge of history 
to deny the truth of a historical event simply because 
another similar event occurred in another century and 
country." But truth or fiction, history or legend, the 
heroic act and name of Tell will live on, immortal and 
inspiring, as they have lived during the last six hundred 
years. Poets and novelists have immortalized the great 
national hero of Switzerland in song and story. Fred- 
erick Schiller, Germany's greatest dramatist, has made 
him the central hero of his greatest drama, and has given 
his name to that great hymn of liberty and patriotism, 
which stirred up the German nation to its glorious 
struggle against Napoleon the First. It is one of the 
few truly patriotic assassinations recorded in history. 



IZ 



CHAPTER VIII 
INEZ DE CASTRO 




INEZ DE CASTRO 



CHAPTER VIII 

ASSASSINATION OF I51EZ DE CASTRO 
(A.D. 1355.) 

AS one of the most cruel and heart-rending tragedies 
of the middle ages, the love-story and the assassi- 
nation of liiez de Castro has lived in song and story for 
five hundred and fifty years, and still awakens echoes of 
pity and sorrow whenever read or heard. 

Constancia, the wife of Pedro, son of Alfonso the 
Fourth of Portugal, and heir-presumptive to the crown 
of that kingdom, died in 1344, and left to her husband a 
son of tender age, named Ferdinand. Pedro thereupon 
desired to marry the countess Inez de Castro, a young 
lady of great beauty and loveliness, and, like himself, 
sprung in direct lineage, but on her mother's side, from 
the royal house of Castile. Ifiez de Castro was of an 
illustrious family, it is true, but her rank was not deemed 
sufficient to entitle her to become the wife of the Crown 
Prince ; therefore when Dom Pedro mentioned to his 
father his intention to marry her, the King positively 
refused his consent. Dom Pedro, however, instead of 
obeying his father, secured permission from the Pope, 
and secretly married her, bestowing upon her the full 
rank and all the rights of a legitimate wife. 

In the meantime the King and his advisers urged Dom 

77 



FAMOUS ASSASSINATIONS 

Pedro to get married again, and proposed a number of 
young princesses of renowned beauty and ancestry for 
his choice. But Pedro, without disclosing the secret of 
his marriage with Inez de Castro (rumors of which were 
nevertheless whispered and busily circulated at the court 
of the King), persistently rejected all these proposals, 
giving no other reason for his refusal than his personal 
disinclination to marry. While Pedro's father reluc- 
tantly accepted his son's emphatic declaration, the most 
trusted advisers and counsellors of the King, Diego 
Lopez Pacheco, Pedro Coello, and Alvaro Calvarez, did 
not, because they were afraid lest the influence of the 
beautiful and accomplished Ifiez de Castro — no matter 
whether she was legally married to Pedro or not — would 
be dangerous and possibly fatal to their own preeminence 
at the court, as soon as Pedro should succeed his father 
on the throne. They shrewdly worked upon the King's 
mind by insinuating that if the rumor of Pedro's secret 
marriage should prove to be true, the ultimate succession 
of Ferdinand, Pedro's son by his first wife, to whom the 
King was very much attached, might be endangered, and 
that possibly the son of Ifiez de Castro would become 
Pedro's successor on the throne. 

The King summoned Pedro to a private interview, and 
asked him concerning his relations with Inez de Castro, 
informing him at the same time of the rumor of his secret 
marriage. Pedro denied the truth of this rumor, admit- 
ting, however, that Inez de Castro, while not his wedded 
wife, was so dear to his heart that on her account he 
would not consent to form a new matrimonial alliance, 
no matter how illustrious by birth or beauty the princess 
proposed to him might be. The emphasis with which 

78 



INEZ DE CASTRO 

Pedro made this assertion satisfied his father that the 
rumor of a secret marriage was true ; and when the King, 
at the next cabinet council, repeated to his confidants the 
result of his interview with the Crown Prince, they pre- 
dicted that the greatest calamities would arise, after the 
King's death, from the Crown Prince's infatuation for 
liiez, which they ascribed rather to unnatural evil influ- 
ences than to the surpassing beauty and loveliness of 
/' the young woman. The King, a man of very irascible 
temperament, became excited and indignant ; he declared 
again and again that, if there were no other means of 
separating Pedro and Ifiez, the young woman would 
have to die. The council then broke up. 

It was but a short time afterwards that Dom Pedro 
left the court for a few days to go out hunting with some 
friends. But warned by his mother, who had heard of 
the King's evil designs upon Ifiez de Castro, he had 
taken her and her two children to Coimbra, where he left 
them in a convent to await his return. On the day after 
his departure, King Alfonso suddenly appeared at the 
convent and demanded to see liiez de Castro. Pedro's 
wife immediately made her appearance, accompanied by 
her two children. As she looked upon the King, whose 
mien was grim and menacing, and who was surrounded 
by a number of his knights in full armor, a presentiment 
of some terrible calamity which was to befall her and her 
two children entered her breast, and from an impulse of 
both fear, and of hope to save her children, she threw 
herself at the King's feet, imploring him to forgive her 
and to take pity on her innocent children. Alfonso's 
heart melted with pity at the sight of so much beauty and 
innocence. He raised her from her kneeling position and 

79 



FAMOUS ASSASSINATIONS 

told her to be of good cheer, and that no harm would 
befall her. And then turning round, he left the convent, 
followed by his attendants, who were not a little sur- 
prised at this peaceful ending of a visit which had prom- 
ised to be a tragedy. 

But while Ifiez already congratulated herself on her 
lucky escape from a terrible death, and even on her good 
fortune in having softened the King's heart toward her- 
self and her two children, she was nevertheless doomed 
to ruin. The three counsellors so hostile to her had not 
accompanied the King on his visit to the convent ; they 
were waiting for the return of their sovereign at some 
distance from Coimbra, and were greatly disappointed 
when they learned from his own lips that, instead of 
having slain with his own hands, as he had promised 
to do, the woman who had seduced his son and enthralled 
him either by her beauty or by the employment of super- 
natural means, he had changed his mind concerning her, 
and now spoke feelingly and affectionately of her and her 
sweet children. The counsellors concealed with great dif- 
ficulty the irritation and disgust with which the King's 
weakness filled them ; they immediately proceeded to coun- 
teract the favorable impression which Inez had made, 
uttering the foulest insinuations and aspersions upon her 
character. The very change which she had succeeded in 
effecting in the King's sentiments toward her was made 
the means of renewing and corroborating the charge that 
evil spirits were assisting her in bewitching the royal 
family for her own selfish purposes. " Since she has so 
easily captured your majesty," said one of them cun- 
ningly, " who can hope to resist her and her ambitious 
designs? Poor Ferdinand!" 

80 



INEZ DE CASTRO 

The artful mention of the name of the young prince, 
whose right of succession was endangered by the recog- 
nition of Inez de Castro, was sufficient to eUcit from the 
King the promise that his son's mistress should never be 
received at the court. Having obtained this concession, 
the three counsellors found it comparatively easy to per- 
suade him that the original purpose for which they had 
come to Coimbra — the death of Inez — was the only 
salvation for the throne and the dynasty, and that it was 
his duty as a monarch to remove her as soon as possible 
in order to avert greater calamities. They told him that 
it was perhaps right that he had not soiled his royal hands 
with the blood of one who was unworthy of the high dis- 
tinction of dying by his sword, but that it was a duty he 
owed to the state and to the legitimate heir to the throne 
to order her death at the earliest moment. Alfonso was 
weak and foolish enough to believe them and to sanction 
the murder of the fair and innocent wife of his son. That 
very night liiez de Castro fell a victim to the daggers of 
two assassins. 

The assassination provoked terror throughout Portu- 
gal and Spain, and general were the denunciations of the 
King and the counsellors who had advised him to com- 
mit the crime. But in this case what followed the murder 
has, even more than the atrocity of the crime itself, made 
it famous in song and story. The murder of Ifiez de 
Castro occurred in 1355. 

A rumor of the tragedy reached Dom Pedro while he 
was taking dinner at the small tavern of a village, some 
thirty leagues from Coimbra. The Crown Prince was 
travelling incognito, and neither the host nor the guests 
of the tavern, except his own companions, knew him and 
. 6 81 



FAMOUS ASSASSINATIONS 

how deeply he was interested in the terrible news which 
a cattle dealer had just reported as the latest sensation 
in the city. Dom Pedro hurried back to Coimbra and to 
the convent. The rumor was only too true. His idolized 
wife was dead. Three horrible wounds, each of which 
would have been sufficient to cause death, disfigured her 
beautiful corpse ; but her countenance shone with angelic 
radiance and sweetness, and the agony of death seemed 
to have left no trace on it. When Dom Pedro learned 
from the nuns how the assassins had demanded entrance 
in the name of the King and had burst open the bedroom 
of Inez and butchered her without mercy, he knelt down 
by the coffin and swore bloody vengeance against all 
those who had taken a hand in this inhuman and atrocious 
crime. He called upon Heaven to assist him in bring- 
ing the assassins and their instigators to justice, and 
laying his hands upon the breast of his murdered wife, 
he swore that he would not desist from the pursuit of 
the guilty persons, even if he had to seek them on the 
throne. The meaning of these words could not be mis- 
construed, for it was generally understood that, while the 
three counsellors had proposed the murder, the King had 
given his consent to it. When Dom Pedro's threat was 
repeated to him, the King, highly incensed, loudly pro- 
claimed that liiez de Castro's death was a just punish- 
ment for her criminal liaison with the Crown Prince, in 
open violation of the King's order, and assumed the full 
responsibility for the murder. The Crown Prince, so 
rudely repelled by his father and deeply wounded by the 
disgrace heaped upon his virtuous wife, refused to return 
to the court ; on the contrary, he called his friends, and 
the friends of Ifiez de Castro, her brothers and cousins, 

82 



INEZ DE CASTRO 

to arms. The cruel and unjustifiable homicide he justly 
ascribed to the calumnies and intrigues of a set of rapa- 
cious cut-throats who were ready to sacrifice everything 
to their own personal interests, and who had deceived 
the King. In a very short time Dom Pedro found him- 
self at the head of an army, with which he invaded those 
provinces in which the castles and mansions of the coun- 
sellors were situated. With merciless severity their lands 
were laid waste, their castles razed to the ground, their 
families and friends killed, and everything was done to 
make their very names and memories odious to their 
fellow-men. 

By that time the King had also been informed by high 
dignitaries of the Church that the union between his son 
and Inez de Castro had been consecrated, that the Pope 
himself had granted them permission to get married, and 
that strict secrecy had been observed simply out of high 
regard for the King, in the hope that he would never 
hear of it and would consequently not feel irritated by 
it. This information had a powerful efifect on the 
King's mind. He began to see what a great crime he 
had committed in sanctioning the murder of a virtuous 
and innocent young wife, whose only fault had possibly 
been her yielding, against the King's outspoken wishes, 
to the Prince's ardent wooing. And when the Queen, 
Dom Pedro's mother, added her supplications and tears 
in behalf of her son, whom the murder of his wife had 
made nearly insane from grief, the King became more 
and more willing to be reconciled to him. He not only 
forgave his acts of Rebellion, but even made amends, as 
much as he could, for the cruel wrong he had done him. 

Under such circumstances it was comparatively easy 

83 



FAMOUS ASSASSINATIONS 

for the A.rchbishop of Braga, whom the Pope had author- 
ized to impart to the King the information concerning 
Dom Pedro's marriage, to effect a reconciUation between 
father and son. Thereupon the son returned to the court, 
where he was received with the highest honors, after he 
had solemnly promised not to take revenge on the coun- 
sellors who had been instrumental in causing the death 
of his wife, and who had already been so severely pun- 
ished by the devastation of their lands and the destruction 
of their castles. To consent to this condition was the 
crudest sacrifice on the part of Dom Pedro, but he finally 
yielded to the tears and prayers of his mother — very 
likely, however, as we shall see, with a mental reservation. 

Two years later. King Alfonso the Fourth died, and 
Dom Pedro ascended the throne of Portugal. The old 
King's death was also the signal for the flight of his 
three counsellors, Pacheco, Coello, and Gonsalvez, whose 
absence was first noticed at the King's obsequies. They 
had sought refuge in Castile, because they felt instinct- 
ively that it would not be safe for them to remain in 
Portugal, and that the ill-concealed hatred of Dom Pedro 
might break forth at any moment and punish tliem terri- 
bly for the part they had taken in Ifiez de Castro's death. 
In fact Pedro had never forgiven the assassins of his 
wife. On the contrary, his heart had never ceased to 
yearn for the day when he could not only take full and 
bloody revenge on her persecutors and murderers, but 
also restore the honor of her name and memory, which 
had been sullied by the calumnies of those scoundrels. 

Castile was at that time ruled by Pedro the Cruel, 
one of the worst and most bloodthirsty tyrants that 
ever sat upon a Spanish throne. Some of his victims 

84 



INEZ DE CASTRO 

had made their escape into Portugal and had found pro- 
tection at the court of Alfonso, Dom Pedro's father. 
But when the counsellors of Alfonso arrived at his court, 
Pedro the Cruel formed the diabolical plan of delivering 
them up to Pedro of Portugal, provided the latter would 
deliver, in exchange for them, the Castilians who had 
found an asylum in his kingdom. No more agreeable 
proposition could have been made to the King of Por- 
tugal, and the exchange was readily made. Two of the 
counsellors, Coello and Gonsalvez, were transported in 
chains to Portugal, and executed with inhuman cruelty. 
They were put to the torture in the hope of extorting 
from them the names of other accessories to the crime; 
thereupon they were burned at the stake, and their 
hearts were torn out ; and thereafter their ashes were 
scattered to the winds. Pacheco, however, escaped this 
terrible fate. Being absent from the court of Castile 
when his two colleagues were arrested, he fled to 
Aragon. 

After having in this manner satisfied his vengeance on 
the assassins. King Pedro assembled the high nobility 
and the great dignitaries of his kingdom at Cataneda, 
and in their presence swore that, after the death of his 
first wife, Constancia, he had legally married liiez de 
Castro ; that the Pope of Rome had given him special 
permission to do so, and that the marriage ceremony had 
been performed by the Archbishop La Guarda, in the 
presence of two witnesses, whom he mentioned by name. 
He ordered these facts to be entered upon the archives 
of the state and to be proclaimed publicly in every city, 
town, and village of the kingdom. The children of liiez 
de Castro were declared legitimate and entitled to all the 

85 



FAMOUS ASSASSINATIONS 

rights and prerogatives of princes of the blood, includ- 
ing succession to the throne of Portugal. Proceeding 
thence to Coimbra, the King ordered the vault in which 
the remains of liiez had been deposited to be opened, 
her corpse, which had been embalmed, to be dressed in 
a royal robe and placed upon a throne, and her head 
to be adorned with a royal crown. He compelled his 
attendants, composed of the highest men of the monarchy, 
to pass by the throne and bow their knees and kiss the 
edge of the Queen's robe, — in fact, to show the same 
reverence and respect to the dead Queen as they might 
have shown to the living Queen on the day of her cor- 
onation. As soon as this ghastly ceremony was over, 
the corpse was placed in a magnificent metal cofhn and 
escorted by the King and a most brilliant cortege of 
knights and noblemen to Alcobaza, a royal residence 
about seventeen miles from Coimbra, and placed in a 
royal vault. A magnificent monument, which repre- 
sented Ifiez de Castro in her incomparable beauty and 
loveliness, was shortly after erected near the vault. It 
was the last tribute which the love and admiration of 
her husband could render to her memory. 



86 



CHAPTER IX 
RIZZIO AND DARNLEY 



CHAPTER IX 

ASSASSINATIONS OF RIZZIO AND DARNLEY 
(March 9, 1566 ; February 9, 1567) 

AMONG the female rulers of Europe there is one 
who on account of her matchless beauty, her 
genius, her adventurous life, but especially her tragic 
death, has enlisted the attention and admiration of authors 
and poets even to a higher degree than Catherine the 
Second of Russia or Elizabeth of England, who perhaps 
surpassed her in political genius. More regretted and 
admired for her misfortunes and accomplishments than 
condemned for her sins and crimes, Mary Stuart, the 
beautiful Queen of Scots, lives in the recollections of pos- 
terity as a vision of incomparable grace, beauty, and love- 
liness, hallowed by the genius of great poets and redeemed 
by a tragic and cruel death. To no historical memory 
poetry and tradition have been more kind and more ideal- 
izing than to Mary Stuart ; and yet she deserves a place 
in this gallery of assassinations not as a victim, but as a 
murderess. 

After reading the descriptions in prose and verse of 
her personal charms, of her matchless beauty and grace, 
of her elegance and wit, of her poetical inspiration and 
musical accomplishments, it is almost impossible for the 
stern historian to maintain the self-possession of an im- 

89 



FAMOUS ASSASSINATIONS 

partial judge and record the misdeeds of which this be- 
witching creature was unquestionably guilty. She seemed 
to combine in her incomparable personality all the physi- 
cal and mental perfections woman is capable of. We will 
say, however, that the crimes which have justly been laid 
to her charge were, in part at least, excusable either on 
the ground of the surrounding circumstances or of great 
provocations. Murder itself, in the rude country and in 
the equally rude and violent times in which it was com- 
mitted, had not that horrid significance which stigmatizes 
it in a more refined and cultured state of civilization. 

Mary Stuart was the only daughter of King James the 
Fifth of Scotland by his second wife, Marie de Lorraine. 
She was the niece of the famous princes of the house of 
Guise — Duke Francis of Guise and the Cardinal de Lor- 
raine — who were rivals in authority and power with the 
kings of France, and who on several occasions rose su- 
perior to them. James the Fifth died young, with his 
daughter yet in her cradle. Quite young she was be- 
trothed to the Dauphin of France, who became afterwards 
King Francis the Second, and she was married to him 
when a mere child. Her renown for beauty and genius 
resounded from one end of Europe to the other. With 
remarkable facility she learned French, Italian, Greek, 
Latin, history, theology, music, painting, dancing, and she 
excelled in writing poetry. Some of her short poems are 
still famous in French literature. But her life as Queen 
of France was but a short dream of splendor and delight. 
The weak and emaciated Francis the Second died after 
a reign of eleven months, and the crown went to his 
young brother, Charles the Ninth. 

Mary Stuart retired for a while to a convent at Rheims, 

90 




ll 



V 



DAVID RIZZIO 



RIZZIO AND DARNLEY 

but soon, upon the death of her mother at Edinburgh, 
she proceeded to Scotland, where a throne awaited her. 
Quite a number of enthusiastic adorers among the high 
nobiUty of France followed her to her new home, because 
they could not bear the thought of separating from a 
princess so charming and beautiful, — a princess who 
kindled in the hearts of all men who were brought into 
contact with her, desires and frequently a passion which 
became fatal to them. Unquestionably Mary Stuart was 
one of the most dangerous coquettes who ever lived, and 
at the brilliant and voluptuous court of the Valois in 
France, almost under the personal direction of the famous 
Diana de Poitiers, she had cultivated the art of using her 
extraordinary charms and accomplishments for the se- 
duction of men to her best advantage. One of the most 
conspicuous of these followers from France was Du 
Chatelard, the scion of one of the noblest houses of the 
French monarchy. He bears the sad distinction of having 
been the first victim to Mary Stuart's intrigues, and of 
having paid for the mad and uncontrollable passion which 
he had conceived for her with his life. Chatelard himself 
was a young man of high accomplishments. He was a 
poet and musician, and by his sweet voice he easily won 
the favor of the young Queen. She imprudently gave 
him so many proofs of her favor and openly admitted 
him to such a close intimacy that young Chatelard not 
without reason believed that she returned the love which 
he had conceived for her. And Mary was not in the 
least afraid to show her fondness for him. It is authen- 
tically reported, for instance, that in bidding him good- 
night in the presence of the court " she kissed him below 
the chin, looking at him in a way that set his whole 

91 



FAMOUS ASSASSINATIONS 

soul afire." No wonder that the young man in the 
transport of his passion committed acts of indiscretion 
and madness, which in a short time led to his execution, 
without visibly affecting the beautiful coquette who had 
encouraged his passion. One night the ladies of the 
palace discovered him hidden behind the curtains of the 
Queen's bed, but his audacity was ascribed to his thought- 
lessness and vanity. He was expelled from the palace for 
a while, but was soon afterwards forgiven and received 
again into the Queen's intimacy. This act of pardon 
turned the young man's head again. He made no secret 
of his glowing admiration for the Queen, and addressed 
amorous verses to her, which were repeated by her at- 
tendants. One evening he was again discovered in the 
Queen's bedroom, where he had secreted himself under 
the Queen's bed. This second time he was put on trial, 
and was condemned to death for having conspired against 
the Queen's life. In vain he protested his undying love 
for Mary Stuart, but the judges were inexorable, and 
Mary herself, who had been trifling with his heart so 
long, and who with a single stroke of the pen could 
have pardoned and saved him, coolly handed him over to 
the executioner. A scaffold was erected before the win- 
dows of Holyrood Palace, where Mary resided, and Du 
Chatelard, the grand-nephew of the famous Chevalier 
Bayard, suffered death with a heroism worthy of his 
great ancestor. His last words were, as he cast a sor- 
rowful look upon the windows behind which the Queen 
stood with her attendants : " Farewell, thou who art so 
beautiful and so cruel, who killest me, and whom I cannot 
cease to love ! " 

The death of Chatelard was the first of a series caused 

92 



RIZZIO AND DARNLEY 

by the mad passion which Mary Stuart kindled in the 
hearts of her adorers. Another attendant who had fol- 
lowed Queen Mary from France to Scotland, and whose 
tragic fate is even more generally known than that of 
Du Chatelard, was David Rizzio, an Italian musician, who 
for some time had been attached to the court of Francis 
the Second of France. Rizzio was of low birth, but had 
some talent as a composer of songs and as a singer, and 
had been brought from Italy by the French Ambassador 
at Piedmont, from whose service he passed into that of 
one of the enthusiastic noblemen who had escorted the 
young Queen to Scotland. The Queen's attention was 
soon attracted to the Italian composer and singer, and 
she begged Rizzio of the nobleman, so that he might 
enter her own service and by his art make her forget the 
lonesome hours and the homesickness for France which 
she felt would be the inevitable result of her residence 
in Scotland. By a congeniality of taste the poor and low- 
born Italian artist and the beautiful young Queen were 
thrown together a great deal, and gradually the love for 
the art ripened into a preference for the artist. He soon 
became the declared favorite and private secretary of the 
Queen, who made him practically the omnipotent coun- 
sellor and minister of her policy. 

The scandal of this singular preference, which was at 
once announced as a vulgar love afifair, spread rapidly 
over all Scotland, and gave rise to loud complaints by 
the Protestants, headed by John Knox, who preached 
against the " woman of Babylon " and her low-bred para- 
mour. The Queen was blind to the consequences of her 
infatuation for this lute player, a mere servant, who 
moreover, by his Italian nationality and Catholic religion, 

93 



FAMOUS ASSASSINATIONS 

defied the narrow prejudices of the Scotch people. In 
spite of her beauty, youth, and lovehness the Queen be- 
came very unpopular, not only with the nobility, but with 
the great mass of the people. 

At that very time Mary Stuart was induced, mainly 
through the influence of Queen Elizabeth of England, to 
contract a marriage with Henry Darnley, a young Scot 
of the almost royal house of Lennox, of great physical, 
although somewhat efifeminate, beauty, but of very in- 
ferior mind. On seeing this young Adonis, Mary Stuart 
fell immediately and very desperately in love with him, 
while it was noticed that Darnley showed much greater 
coldness than men generally manifested in their gallantry 
toward her. Darnley, descending from a daughter of 
Henry the Eighth, had perhaps as good a title to the 
crown of England as Mary Stuart, and by a marriage of 
these two claimants, it was expected that their interests 
would be consolidated and consequently strengthened. 
The interest which Queen Elizabeth of England had to 
promote this marriage was her hope of lowering Queen 
Mary's standing and authority in the eyes of her many 
Catholic adherents in England by this marriage with an 
English subject, — an intention in which Elizabeth was 
largely successful. In spite of the strong opposition of a 
number of the most prominent Scotch nobles and most 
notably of Lord Murray, Mary's half-brother, the mar- 
riage was consummated on the twenty-ninth of July, 1565. 
On the other hand. David Rizzio, Mary's Italian secretary 
and confidant, had very warmly advocated and promoted 
the marriage, and Darnley openly paid court to him, ex- 
pecting great results from his influence over the Queen. 
Why Rizzio should have so eagerly encouraged the mar- 

94 




LORD DARNLEY 



RIZZIO AND DARNLEY 

riage is involved in doubt. Very likely the scandalous 
stories circulated about the Queen's relations to Rizzio 
were mere inventions ; and Rizzio, who moreover was 
deformed and ugly, far from being" the Queen's lover, 
was only ambitious ; he hoped to have even a greater 
share of political authority under a' nominal king, whom 
he recognized as an intellectual nonentity, but whose 
personal beauty diverted the young Queen's thoughts 
from the cares of government. 

During the first months after the wedding Rizzio's 
expectations were fully realized. The young Queen in 
the transport of her passion for Darnley paid no attention 
to government affairs ; her whole mind and soul seemed 
to be enwrapped in her love for her young husband ; 
apparently she cared for nothing else but to caress him 
and to shower her favors upon him. She conferred upon 
him the title of king, without, however, giving him the 
attributes of royal power, which she reserved for herself. 
If Darnley had been a man of greater mental calibre he 
could very easily have made himself king in fact as well 
as in name ; but he was a weakling in every respect. 
After the first few weeks had passed away in the closest 
intimacy with her consort, Mary's extreme fondness, not 
to say idolatry, of him, entirely disappeared, and in 
a very short time her conduct toward him assumed a 
degree of estrangement and coldness which contrasted 
strangely with the cordiality which had preceded them. 
Mary's full confidence and intimacy turned once more 
toward Rizzio, whose ascendency over her mind seemed 
to be greater than ever before. More than anybody else 
Darnley was dissatisfied with this turn of iafifairs. He 
saw that the chance of empire had slipped away from 

95 



FAMOUS ASSASSINATIONS 

him, and he found that it was impossible for him to 
recover his former standing with the Queen. In vain 
he tried to be admitted to a direction of the government 
afifairs and to perform some of the duties which seemed 
to pertain to his exalted station in the state ; but Queen 
Mary obstinately refused to accede to these demands. 
Darnley, who ascribed this refusal, in part at least, to 
Rizzio's influence, then joined the party of political mal- 
contents who, either from motives of personal ambition 
or of religious antipathy, were anxious to bring about 
the overthrow of the Italian favorite and place a national 
and, if possible, a Protestant ministry in power. To 
carry out this plan they won Darnley over to their side, 
and filled his mind with dark insinuations and jealousy 
against Rizzio. It seems they also promised him a co- 
regency with the Queen, and full royal authority equal 
to hers in case the much-hated Italian should be removed. 

These prospects were sufficient to inflame Darnley's 
ambition and make him a willing tool in the hands of 
Rizzio's enemies. He did not shrink even from murder, 
and committed it openly and defiantly. As soon as the con- 
viction had been established in his mind that Rizzio stood 
in the way of his ambition, he resolved upon his assas- 
sination, which was not only to lead to his own aggran- 
dizement, but also to punish Mary for having preferred 
the Italian to him. He did not wait long to carry his 
plan into execution ; and the brutality and reckless ferocity 
with which the murder was committed were even more 
atrocious and repulsive than the crime itself. Only a 
brute and cowardly knave could have planned it. 

The murder was committed on the evening of Sunday, 
the ninth of March, 1566, in the Queen's private dining- 

96 



RIZZIO AND DARNLEY 

room in the palace of Holyrood, adjoining her bedroom. 
The Queen was there with the Countess of Argyle, one or 
two other ladies, and Rizzio, her secretary. The best of 
feeling and humor prevailed in the little party. There 
was not the least indication or suspicion of impending 
trouble or danger. Nevertheless an armed force of five 
hundred adherents of the conspirators, under the lead of 
one of Darnley's lieutenants, had been posted on the out- 
side so as to surround the palace entirely. The greatest 
caution had been observed to avoid all noise, and the first 
intimation that something was wrong was conveyed to 
the little party in the dining-room by the sudden appear- 
ance of Darnley. With great familiarity he throws his 
arm around the Queen's waist. He is almost immediately 
followed by Ruthven, one of his friends, who is clad in 
full armor and is ghastly pale from excitement and fear. 
The Queen haughtily commands him to leave the room ; 
but before he can answer, her bedroom is filled with men 
bearing torches and brandishing their swords, nearly all 
under the influence of liquor, and calling with loud and 
threatening voices for Rizzio. The Italian knows im- 
mediately what this scene means. He jumps from his 
seat and takes refuge behind the Queen, clutching her 
gown with the grasp of despair and imploring her to 
save his life. Mary Stuart at this moment stands erect 
in the consciousness of her outraged dignity, her eyes 
sparkling with indignation and wrath, and trying to 
protect Rizzio against the crowd of aggressors who are 
pushing up to her, upsetting the table on which she leans 
her hand, and trying to push her aside in order to get 
at Rizzio. For a few moments she succeeds in keeping 
them at bay ; but then it is Darnley who comes to their 
7 97 



FAMOUS ASSASSINATIONS 

rescue. He seizes the Queen, tries to push her away, and 
takes hold of Rizzio's hand in order to make him loose 
his grasp of Mary's gown. In this struggle Mary has 
partly uncovered the Italian, and one of the conspirators, 
espying the opportunity, plunges a dagger over Mary's 
shoulder into Rizzio's breast. It is a signal for a general 
assault on the unfortunate victim. Like madmen they 
rush upon him from all sides ; they drag him from be- 
hind the Queen, who is herself in danger of being slain; 
they beat him, they kick him, they plunge their swords, 
their knives, their daggers into his bleeding and mutilated 
body, they pull him by the hair, lifeless and maimed as 
he is, through the dining-room, through the bedroom, 
to the outer door of the antechamber, and only desist 
when they see that it is nothing but a corpse which they 
are maltreating. 

The dead silence which suddenly follows gives notice 
to Mary that the horrid crime has been fully committed, 
that her favorite lies prostrate and silenced forever at the 
threshold of her bedroom. What wonder that in that 
terrible hour thoughts of revenge and hatred against 
Darnley, the .leader of this gang of savages and mur- 
derers, arise in her brain, never to leave it again? 

The assassination of Rizzio had opened a chasm be- 
tween Mary Stuart and Darnley which nothing but his 
own blood could fill up. From the very first moment it 
became evident — and the Queen made no secret of it — 
that Mary Stuart intended to resent the foul murder of 
one who, if he had not been her lover, had enjoyed her 
confidence and her friendship, and whom not even her 
personal intercession had been able to save from a most 

98 



RIZZIO AND DARNLEY 

cruel and entirely undeserved death. Immediately after 
the murder, when Ruthven came back to her presence, 
with the blood-stained dagger still in his hand, and 
demanded wine, she answered : "It shall be dear blood 
to some of you ! " Nor would she permit the blood of 
Rizzio to be washed off the floor ; she wished that it 
should forever remain as a mark of the murder which had 
been committed there, and she ordered a partition to be 
built between the grand staircase and the door of the ante- 
chamber leading to her bedroom, in order to protect the 
blood-stained floor from being desecrated by the feet of 
visitors. In this condition the Palace has remained for 
centuries and the stains caused by Rizzio's blood have 
withstood the lapse of hundreds of years. 

The halcyon days which Mary had tried to create for 
herself at Holyrood — the days and hours which she 
had hoped would console her by poetry, music, and song 
for her absence from France — had come to a sudden and 
cruel end. The conspirators were not satisfied with 
having slain Rizzio ; his murder was only the unavoidable 
means to accomplish a certain purpose, — to get control 
of the government. They kept the Queen in close cap- 
tivity and would not permit any of her friends, not even 
her ladies, to see or confer with her. It was then that 
Mary resorted to her great power of duplicity. Carefully 
concealing the profound horror and disgust with which 
the sight of Darnley filled her, she convinced him easily 
that her interests and his were identical, that his strength 
lay in his exalted station as consort of the Queen, and 
that their continued estrangement and enmity would only 
lead to the elevation of her half-brother. Lord Murray, 
or some other great nobleman. Darnley was only too 
L.ciC. 99 



FAMOUS ASSASSINATIONS 

easily persuaded ; he fell readily into the trap which the 
deceitful Queen had set for him. In his overweening- 
vanity, and convinced of his own invincibility, he ascribed 
the passionate appeals and the affectionate solicitations 
of the Queen for his support to a renewal of her former 
love and passion for him. Carried away by her tenderness 
and loveliness, he promised to release her from her cap- 
tivity and to abduct her to Dunbar castle, where she would 
be secure from any plots of her enemies. Darnley in- 
duced a number of his personal friends and adherents to 
join him in this undertaking, and a few nights later the 
flight from Holyrood to Dunbar was effected with com- 
plete success. 

Darnley, after having thus separated his cause from 
that of the enemies of the Queen, — who were seriously 
debating whether she should be imprisoned for life, exiled 
from the country, or put to death, — went a step further. 
He openly denounced the assassination of Rizzio as an 
inexcusable crime, and disclaimed all previous knowledge 
of and complicity in it. Nobody believed him, — neither 
the Queen, who had seen his active participation in the 
murder when he could easily have prevented it ; nor 
the conspirators, who knew that he had planned all the 
details, had helped in its execution, and had promised to 
protect those who would take a hand in it. But Darn- 
ley's lying declaration served the political aims of the 
Queen well. From Dunbar she issued an appeal to the 
'loyal people and nobles of Scotland, imploring their assist- 
ance against the rebels who had driven her from Edin- 
burgh and had insulted and threatened her in her own 
palace, and using the presence and the declaration of the 
King to contradict the stories and accusations circulated 

100 



RIZZIO AND DARNLEY 

by the conspirators and "' rebels " against her scandalous 
private life. Eight thousand loyal Scots responded to 
this appeal of their Queen, and at the head of this enthu- 
siastic army Queen Mary and her husband returned to 
Edinburgh and once more took possession of Holyrood. 

It was not long before the Queen threw ofif the mask 
of affection for Darnley, which she had assumed for 
political purposes, and openly again showed that aversion 
which she really felt for him. Not even the birth of 
her son, who afterwards as James the Sixth ruled over 
Scotland and as James the First over England, changed 
the strained relations between husband and wife. There 
seems to be no doubt that the new cause of these strained 
relations, which grew more apparent from day to day, 
was a criminal and adulterous love affair which had 
quite suddenly sprung up between the Queen and one 
of the noblemen of her court, the Earl of Bothwell. 

The new favorite was a scion of one of the noblest 
and most renowned families of Scotland, but his personal 
history was far from being honorable. The mere fact 
that a man with such antecedents could appear at court 
and be received in the very highest society is a sad 
comment on the moral tone prevailing at that court and 
in that society. Bothwell was at that time no longer a 
young man. When quite young he had one day disap- 
peared from the castle of his fathers and, on reaching the 
coast of the North Sea, had joined a gang of adventurers 
who, as pirates, infested those waters and were a terror 
to the merchant vessels of all the nations of Europe. By 
natural ability, unbounded courage and daring the young 
Scotchman had rapidly risen to a commanding position 
among the wild corsairs ; his name was repeated with 

lOI 



FAMOUS ASSASSINATIONS 

fear and awe from the coasts of Denmark to tlie west coast 
of Ireland. In one of the desperate eng:agements with 
warships of the Haiiseatic League he had lost one eye, 
but had saved his life and his freedom. Many years of 
his life he had passed in this wild and adventurous career. 
Then the news of the death of his father reached him, 
and one morning he reappeared in his ancestral home to 
take possession of his vast domain. The turbulent condi- 
tion of Scotland, the civil war between Protestants and 
Catholics, the struggles for supremacy between the crown 
and the nobility, were congenial to his adventurous and 
reckless spirit. He had been among the first to greet 
Mary Stuart on her arrival from France and had shown 
her, from the first day he saw her, an enthusiastic, almost 
worshipful devotion. He was a passionate adorer of 
female beauty, and the romantic halo of his past life which 
surrounded his brow had secured for him triumphs in 
love-afi"airs with some of the fairest women of the court. 
He was among those who escorted Mary from Holyrood 
to Dunbar, and again he was one of those who led her 
back in triumph from Dunbar to Edinburgh. During this 
return march Bothwell distinguished himself by the skill 
of his militar}' dispositions, by his boldness and intre- 
pidity, and attracted the personal notice of the Queen. 

At Holyrood the acquaintance between the Queen and 
the daring general quickly ripened into love and intimacy, 
although the Queen took great care at first to conceal the 
new passion which had taken possession of her inflamma- 
ble heart, even from her closest friends. But while these 
efforts on the part of the Queen may have been successful 
in deceiving her intimate friends, there were always eyes 
turned upon her which were not so easily deceived, — 

102 



RIZZIO AND DARXLEY 

and these eyes were those of the ambassadors of England, 
France, and Spain accredited at her court. They watched 
her conduct very attentively, and almost simultaneously 
reported to their sovereigns the nascent favor with which 
the Queen looked upon Bothwell, and the growing cold- 
ness which became noticeable between her and Damley. 
It was only a serious accident, which befell Bothwell soon 
afterwards and which imperilled his life for several days, 
that revealed the new passion of the Queen to the whole 
court and placed the new favorite at the head of the gov- 
ernment, with similar honors and similar powers to those 
previously showered on Rizzio. 

We are neither writing a personal history of Queen 
Mary, nor a political history of her reign ; we are merely 
writing a history of the assassinations of which she was, 
so to speak, the central figure that gave them world-wide 
celebrity. We have therefore carefully excluded from 
our narration all political and biographical facts which 
were either not directly connected with these assassina- 
tions or had not a psychological bearing upon them. 

We have reached the period when Mary — blinded by 
passion and infatuated with love for a man utterly un- 
worthy of her, or to speak more correctly, of the exalted 
position she occupied in the world — surrendered not 
only herself, but also the dignity of the crown and the 
honor and the interests of the realm to the Earl of Both- 
well, known to the entire court as a profligate and liber- 
tine of the worst sort and as a most unscrupulous and 
reckless adventurer. It was this infatuation for Both- 
well and the shameless liaison she formed with him 
from which all of Queen Mary's sufferings and disas- 

103 



FAMOUS ASSASSINATIONS 

ters now flowed in rapid succession. Not even her in- 
comparable beauty and loveliness could save her from the 
contempt attached to this disgraceful liaison, of which 
she made soon no more a secret than she had formerly 
made of her preference for Rizzio. But while in her infat- 
uation for the Italian singer the artistic taste of the Queen 
was rather successfully used by her admirers as an excuse 
for her enthusiastic preference for him, there was abso- 
lutely no excuse for her liaison with Bothwell. And 
Bothwell did all he could do to strengthen the unfavor- 
able impression of Mary's conduct by the haughty and 
overbearing rudeness with which he treated the greatest 
lords and the highest dignitaries of the kingdom, includ- 
ing the King himself, for whom he openly showed the 
greatest contempt. 

Outraged by the insults which he had to endure day 
after day and from which the Queen herself did not seem 
to be willing to protect him, Darnley suddenly left the 
court and went to Glasgow, where he took up his resi- 
dence in the house of his father, the Earl of Lennox. The 
King's sudden departure caused more unfavorable com- 
ment than the Queen had anticipated. It greatly discon- 
certed her, because she was afraid that from Glasgow 
Darnley might issue an appeal to the Scotch people, and 
especially to the dissatisfied nobility, laying before them 
his complaints and calling upon them to overthrow the dis- 
graceful rule of an adulterous wife and her paramour. 

Soon the news came from Glasgow that Darnley had 
fallen seriously ill, that he was suffering from the small- 
pox and was expected to die. The Queen took advantage 
of this serious illness and once more resorted to her power 
of dissimulation, which had served her so well after 

104 



RIZZIO AND DARNLEY 

Rizzio's death. She intended now to employ it not only 
to temporarily deceive and beguile her husband, but to 
decoy him into an ambush and put him to death. In- 
credible as the enormity and ferocity of the crime may 
appear, especially on the part of a young and beauti- 
ful woman distinguished by so many mental advan- 
tages, there seems not to be the least doubt that Mary, 
in going to Glasgow and appearing at the bedside of 
her sick husband as a loving wife, had this horrid crime 
in view and successfully paved the way for its execu- 
tion. She again played with consummate art the part 
of a loving and trembling wife, and deceived Darnley so 
fully that he promised to follow her to Edinburgh as soon 
as the progress of his convalescence would make it possi- 
ble for him to undertake the journey. Thus fully assured 
of Darnley 's forgiveness, she returned to Holyrood and 
perfected there, together with Bothwell, the arrange- 
ments for his murder. 

When Darnley arrived at Edinburgh, a short time 
afterwards, he was not, as he ought to have been, taken 
to the royal palace, where he could have been cared for 
better than anywhere else, but to a private residence in 
an isolated location in one of the suburbs of the city, 
whose salubrious location, it was alleged, would facilitate 
the King's rapid recovery. Darnley himself was greatly 
surprised at these arrangements, especially when he 
learned that the Queen would not take up her residence 
with him, but would remain at the Palace. Apprehen- 
sions of some impending danger haunted his mind, and 
he became melancholy and despondent. However, the 
Queen by her appearance and the excess of her tender- 
ness soon dispelled his vague fears and convinced him 

105 



FAMOUS ASSASSINATIONS 

that only care for his enfeebled condition and the hope 
of quickening his convalescence had prompted her to 
select his residence, from which he would be promptly 
removed after his complete recovery. In order to reas- 
sure him fully, she remained several nights with him, 
occupying a room immediately beneath his own, and man- 
ifesting toward him the greatest affection and solicitude. 
One of her pages slept in the same room with him, and 
five or six servants, whom Bothwell had appointed, 
formed the entire household. 

Late in the evening of February 9, 1567, the Queen left 
the house and went back to Holyrood to pass the night 
there, because one of the musicians attached to the royal 
chapel was to be married that night, and she had promised 
to be at the wedding. It was while the wedding-festiv- 
ities were going on at Holyrood and while the Queen was 
dancing with some of the courtiers in the most careless 
and unaflfected manner possible, that a terrific explosion 
took place which was heard and felt in all parts of the city 
and at Holyrood. Soon the rumor spread that the house 
of the King had been blown to atoms and that all the in- 
mates were buried under the ruins. This rumor was 
only partly true. The morning light of the tenth of Feb- 
ruary revealed the fact that the house had been blown up 
by means of an underground mine ; but the corpse of the 
King was not found among the ruins. On the contrary, 
it was found, together with the corpse of the page, in an 
orchard adjoining the house, and neither the King nor the 
page showed any marks of gunpowder ; but the bloated 
condition of their faces and the marks of finger-nails on 
their necks showed that both had been choked to death 
and had been left lying on the ground where the assassins 

106 



RIZZIO AND DARNLEY 

had killed them. It was then surmised that both the King 
and the page, having been disturbed in their sleep by the 
approach of the assassins, had tried to make their escape 
through the orchard, but had been overtaken in their 
flight and slain. The explosion had unquestionably been 
intended to destroy all vestiges of the crime by burying 
both the assassins and their victims under the ruins, but 
it had either taken place too soon, before the murderers 
could have carried the King and the page back to the 
house, or the assassins had hurried away immediately 
after committing the deed. At all events, Darnley was 
dead. 

The evidences of premeditated murder were so plain 
that from the very first not the least doubt was manifested 
as to the character of the calamity. Neither was there 
the least uncertainty in the public mind as to the author 
or authors of the terrible catastrophe and the assassi- 
nations attending it. The public voice immediately named 
Bothwell as the murderer and added, in a whisper, the 
name of the Queen as his accomplice. In those times 
murders were committed so often that the murderers in 
a majority of cases escaped unpunished. But in this case 
the rank of the victim was so exalted, and moreover the 
circumstances surrounding the crime were so damaging 
to the authority of the crown, that public opinion demand- 
ing an investigation of the death of the King could not be 
disregarded. The Queen, who, if innocent, should have 
been the first to insist on a thorough investigation of the 
crime by which her husband was killed, afifected an abso- 
lute indiflference in the matter. She utterly disregarded 
the damaging rumors which openly charged Bothwell 
with the murder, and by this indifference confirmed the 

107 



FAMOUS ASSASSINATIONS 

suspicion of her silent active (or at best, passive) partici- 
pation in the crime. The Queen even openly defied public 
opinion by leaving Bothwell in the undisturbed possession 
of the honors and dignities she had conferred upon him, 
and by adding new ones, showing the continued favor the 
Earl enjoyed, in spite of the public clamor raised against 
him. " But Banquo's ghost would not go down ! " The 
excitement and the indignation of the people rose to the 
highest point. On her appearance in the streets, the 
Queen was insulted by the women. She found it neces- 
sary for her safety to leave Holyrood and seek refuge in 
the fortified castle. Bothwell had the audacity to demand 
a public trial, because the Earl of Lennox, Darnley's 
father, had openly accused him of the murder ; and the 
cowardly judges, overawed by the power of the accused, 
by the royal troops, by the authority of the Queen, ac- 
quitted him, while the whole people considered and 
declared him guilty. 

We have reached the end of this atrocious murder. 
Posterity holds Queen Mary guilty of the crime of 
having murdered her young husband. Her abduction 
by Bothwell and her marriage to him, although appar- 
ently forced upon her, had been planned by the two 
murderers even before the assassination. Mary's long 
imprisonment and final execution at the bidding of a cruel 
and jealous rival has often been deplored by biographer, 
historian, and dramatist, — but were they more than a 
just atonement for crimes as atrocious as they were 
unprecedented ? 



1 08 



CHAPTER X 
WILLIAM OF ORANGE 




WILLIAM OF ORANGE 



CHAPTER X 

ASSASSINATION OF WILLIAM OF ORANGE 
(July 10, 1584) 

IT was said by one of the wild revolutionists of France, 
in extenuation of his incessant demands for the exe- 
cution of a larger number of the nobility, that the tree 
of liberty, to grow vigorously, should be watered with 
plenty of blood. Alas ! The history of the republics of 
the world, not only since the great French Revolution 
of 1789, but at all times, both ancient and modern, proves 
the justice of this assertion, but none furnishes a more 
convincing proof of it than the history of the Dutch 
Republic in its heroic struggle against the gigantic power 
of Spain and other monarchical nations. At the very 
threshold of that history stands the luminous figure of 
the great Prince of Orange, William the Silent, — war- 
rior, statesman, orator, and patriot ; whose assassination, 
closely following upon the murders of the night of 
St. Bartholomew, is but the first of the crimes committed 
against the illustrious men of the Dutch Republic — 
Olden Barnevelt, the brothers De Witt, and others. 

The assassination of William of Orange is of a semi- 
political and semi-religious character. The revolt of the 
Netherlands against Spanish rule, of which the Prince 
of Orange was the principal figure, originated in religious 

III 



FAMOUS ASSASSINATIONS 

conflicts between the Netherlanders — most of whom 
were Calvinists or Lutherans — and the bigoted King 
of Spain, Phihp the Second, who was more CathoHc 
than the Pope himself. It was one of the fixed ideas 
of PhiHp the Second, a perfect monomania, that in the 
immense empire over which he ruled, none but faithful 
believers in the Catholic faith should be tolerated, and 
that all heretics or dissidents should be exterminated with 
fire and sword. In the Pyrenean peninsula — for Portu- 
gal was at this time annexed to Spain — this idea was 
most radically carried out, and year after year the Inqui- 
sition, which flourished there as the first institution of 
the state, handed over thousands of victims, convicted 
or suspected of heresy, to a most cruel death at the stake 
for the purpose of purifying the spiritual atmosphere 
of the country. But when an effort was being made 
on the part of the King to introduce the same system 
of spiritual purification into the Netherlands, which he 
had inherited from his father, the Emperor Charles the 
Fifth, and whose population was mostly of Germanic 
race, that effort met with a most stubborn and almost 
insuperable resistance. 

Already, under Charles the Fifth, all attempts to 
smother the Protestant Reformation — which had entered 
the Netherlands both from Germany and France and 
which had immediately found many adherents — had 
failed. The Emperor, himself a Netherlander and famil- 
iar with the character of the people, had deemed it pru- 
dent to abolish the Inquisition (at least in name) and not 
to interfere too strongly with those personal rights of the 
inhabitants which their municipal or provincial statutes 
guaranteed to them. Moreover the Emperor had a very 

112 



WILLIAM OF ORANGE 

affable and popular way of dealing with the people, and 
he could do a great many things which no other ruler 
might have presumed to do. When Charles the Fifth 
abdicated in 1555, the grief of the people of the Nether- 
lands was not only general, but sincere ; they seemed to 
feel instinctively that the change which was to occur in 
the government was full of impending dangers and ca- 
lamities for them. The personality of the new ruler 
fully justified these apprehensions. Philip the Second 
came to the Netherlands from England, where he had 
resided a short time as consort of Queen Mary, and his 
reputation for bigotry, fanaticism, and cruelty had pre- 
ceded his arrival. Many of the acts of bloodshed and 
cruelty which were committed under that reign were 
more or less justly imputed to his influence, and his new 
» subjects trembled at the prospects of similar scenes of 
persecution and despotism. No wonder that on the 
twenty-fifth of October, 1555, when the act of abdica- 
tion was consummated at Brussels, and when the infirm 
Emperor, leaning upon the shoulder of Prince William 
of Orange, appeared before the representatives and high 
dignitaries of all the provinces constituting the Nether- 
lands, and ceded the. government to his son, who stood 
on his right side, a shudder passed through the high 
assembly. Many eyes passed apprehensively from the 
open and kindly countenance of the Emperor, then bathed 
in tears, to the sinister and cruel features of King Philip. 
What a contrast also between the majestic form and 
noble coimtenance of William of Orange and the small, 
feeble, narrow-chested son of Charles, who with distrust- 
ful eyes looked down upon this assemblage of nobles as 
if they were strangers or enemies, and whom not even 
8 113 



FAMOUS ASSASSINATIONS 

the glitter of royalty could invest with dignity, although 
his features showed uncommon pride and haughtiness! 
The hopes of the people of the Low Countries rested 
upon the one ; their fears were centred on the other. 

Unquestionably it had been the Emperor's intention to 
place William of Orange by the side of his son as chief 
adviser and protector ; but the characters of the two 
were so different — the one broad, humane, manly ; the 
other narrow, bigoted, timid — that it soon became man- 
ifest that a hearty cooperation of the two men for the 
welfare of the state was impossible. Moreover the aspira- 
tions and tendencies in regard to the government of the 
provinces which the two men entertained were absolutely 
conflicting, the Prince being in favor of liberal institu- 
tions and scrupulous observance of the guaranteed rights 
of the provinces, while the King was illiberal and despotic, 
without regard for the local customs and rights of the 
Netherlanders, anxious to concentrate all powers in his 
hands and to subordinate the whole government to his 
autocratic will. 

These conflicting tendencies and these antipathies grew 
and became intensified as the months and years passed 
by; consequently, when Philip in 1559 left Brussels for 
Spain, he did not appoint the Prince of Orange Governor-, 
General of the Netherlands, to which position he was 
clearly entitled, but conferred that honor with the title 
of regent upon his half-sister, Margaret, Duchess of 
Parma, who shared his own fanatical ideas. As her 
chief adviser he appointed Cardinal Granvella, a man 
of great sagacity and talent, but filled with animosity 
against the enemies of the Catholic Church, and in full 
though secret accord with the King concerning the 

114 



WILLIAM OF ORANGE 

necessity of wiping out the privileges of the " arrogant 
burghers of the Low Countries." William of Orange 
was appointed Stadtholder of Holland and Zealand, and 
a member of the Council of State, a sort of cabinet for 
the Regent Duchess in which Cardinal Granvella was 
the leading spirit. Several other prominent noblemen 
of the Dutch provinces, Count Egmont, the conqueror 
of Gravelines, and Count Hoorn, were also members of 
the Council of State ; but they were in a minority, and 
the Spanish or Cardinalistic party ruled its decisions 
absolutely. All of these decisions were hostile to the 
guaranteed rights of the Provinces ; they interfered with 
freedom of conscience ; they reintroduced the Spanish 
Inquisition under the disguise of creating new episcopal 
sees and attaching two inquisitors to each ; and by es- 
tablishing Spanish garrisons in the fortified towns they 
violated the constitutional right of the provinces that no 
foreign troops should be stationed there. The protests 
of the Prince of Orange and of Counts Egmont and 
Hoorn were of no avail, so these three distinguished 
members refused to attend the sessions of the Council 
of State. 

In the meantime a spirit of public dissatisfaction and 
disorder manifested itself which showed to the sagacious 
Regent that the measures enacted and enforced by Car- 
dinal Granvella would lead to a revolt against the Spanish 
regime. The people of Brussels showed their hatred and 
contempt for the Cardinal in many ways. In public pro- 
cessions they carried banners with insulting inscriptions 
or offensive caricatures and cartoons exhibiting him in 
ridiculous positions. Alarmed at these manifestations of 
public hostility, the Duchess Regent applied to the King, 

"5 



FAMOUS ASSASSINATIONS 

imploring him to remove Granvella from his post aS 
President of the Council of State. The King reluctantly 
complied with the request, but Granvella's removal did 
not change the spirit of the Council ; and it was only too 
evident that its decisions were emanations from the King's 
own mind. When Count Egmont, who had gone to 
Madrid on a special mission to plead for the personal and 
political rights of the Netherlanders, urged upon the King 
to give them greater religious liberty and to annul some 
of the stringent laws of the Council of State, Philip got 
into a rage and exclaimed : " No, no, I would rather die a 
thousand deaths and lose every square foot of my empire 
than permit the least change in our religion ! " And he 
added that the decrees of the Council of Trent, which had 
recently been held, and which had affirmed anew the im- 
mutable doctrines of the Catholic Church, should be 
rigidly enforced in all his states. New instructions to 
that effect were sent to the Netherlands, followed by new 
convictions and new executions. 

It was at this perilous and critical time that William of 
Orange openly accepted the Lutheran faith. Shortly 
before, he had been married to Princess Anne of Saxony, 
a daughter of the famous Maurice, Elector of Saxony, 
and a fervent Lutheran. William's conversion to Prot- 
estantism has been often ascribed to the influence of his 
wife, but it should be remembered that William was born 
a prince of Nassau in Germany and the son of Lutheran 
parents, and that his Catholicism dated only from the 
time of his later education at the court of Charles the 
Fifth, where he was placed as a page at the early age of 
nine years. William had never forgotten the lessons of 
Protestantism which he had imbibed in his early child- 

ii6 



WILLIAM OF ORANGE 

hood, and while professing the CathoUc faith in later 
years, he had retained that respect and that affection for 
the principles of the Reformation which so peculiarly 
qualified him to act as umpire and leader in a contest in 
which religion played so conspicuous a part. 

Up to that time the nobility had taken much less inter- 
est in the religious quarrels than the lower classes of the 
people ; but the steadily increasing number of convictions 
and executions for heresy aroused their fears that the 
Spanish monarch intended to abolish their time-honored 
privileges and wished to substitute a Spanish autocracy 
for their liberal self-government. Against this intention 
they loudly protested, Catholics as well as Protestants, 
and bound themselves to stand together in their resistance 
to further acts of aggression. They presented petitions 
and protests to the Duchess Regent who received them 
in a conciliatory spirit, and forwarded them to the King, 
recommending at the same time greater leniency and 
moderation. But Philip the Second, getting tired of the 
many complaints and remonstrances reaching him from 
Brussels, and determined to stamp out heresy at whatever 
cost, sent the Duke of Alva, the sternest and most cruel of 
all his commanders, at the head of a considerable army to 
the Netherlands, with full powers to restore order and to 
reestablish the authority of the Catholic Church. From 
the well-known character of the commander-in-chief it 
could not be doubted that the King's severe orders would 
be carried out in the most cruel and unrelenting spirit, 
and that neither age nor sex nor rank would be spared. 
That Alva's mission would be successful, the King did 
not doubt for a minute. But it was on his part a case of 
misplaced judgment, because his narrow mind could not 

117 



FAMOUS ASSASSINATIONS 

measure the difference between the Jews and Moriscoes, 
and the Netherlanders : against the former the poUcy of 
violence and compulsion had been successful ; against the 
latter that same policy was doomed to ignominious fail- 
ure. The rumor that he would come as a bloody avenger 
preceded Alva's arrival, and filled the hearts of the Neth- 
erlanders with terror. A regular panic ensued, and an 
emigration en masse was organized ; it looked as though 
the northern provinces were to be depopulated entirely 
by this exodus of men, women and children, mostly be- 
longing to the mercantile and working classes, and taking 
their merchandise and their household goods with them. 
The sending of an army composed entirely of Span- 
iards and Italians into the Netherlands was so flagrant a 
violation of the constitutional rights of the provinces, 
which the King had sworn to maintain, that the Prince of 
Orange thought the time for open resistance had come, 
and he conferred with Egmont, Hoorn, and other promi- 
nent men concerning its organization. But finding it im- 
possible to organize united resistance against Alva's army, 
William of Orange, with his profound insight and with 
his distrust in the Spanish King's intentions, deemed it 
prudent to leave the Netherlands and withdraw to his 
estates in Germany instead of imperilling his head by re- 
maining at Brussels. It was in vain that he tried to per- 
suade Egmont, to whom he was greatly attached, to 
accompany him and to place his valuable life beyond the 
reach of the Spanish " avenger." Egmont's openhearted 
and confiding character refused to believe the sinister 
forebodings of the penetrating genius of his friend ; he 
relied on his immense popularity among the Nether- 
landers and on the great services he had rendered, on the 

ii8 



WILLIAM OF ORANGE 

battle-field, to the House of Hapsburg. He therefore 
remained at Brussels, and even welcomed Alva on his 
arrival at the capital. The Spanish commander conducted 
himself as the regent de facto without paying much atten- 
tion to the Duchess, who still held that position nominally. 
One of his first official acts was the appointment of a 
special tribunal, which he named the Council of Troubles, 
composed exclusively of Spaniards, to try charges of 
heresy and treason. The people, however, found another, 
and more appropriate name for it. On account of the 
indecent haste and rapidity with which persons were tried, 
convicted, and executed by this Council, they named it 
"The Bloedraad " (The Council of Blood). The num- 
ber of victims was so great that gallows and scaffolds 
had to be erected in all the cities and towns of the Nether- 
lands, and that the executioners were kept busy in be- 
heading and quartering the heretics and " traitors." 
Counts Egmont and Hoorn had been arrested, soon after 
Alva's arrival, on the charge of treason ; they were also 
tried before the Court of Troubles and convicted on 
trumped-up charges. They were beheaded, together with 
eighteen members of the nobility, at the public square of 
Brussels. 

This infamous act stirred up William of Orange to 
immediate action. What he had foreseen and predicted 
had come to pass. Evidently it was Alva's intention to 
kill off the leaders in order to get control of the great 
mass of the people without much difficulty or resistance. 
William of Orange himself was charged with treason and 
summoned to appear before the judges of the Court of 
Troubles. But since his appearance at Brussels would 
have been equivalent to his conviction, he refused to 

119 



FAMOUS ASSASSINATIONS 

recognize the jurisdiction of the court, claiming that as 
a knight of the Golden Fleece he had the right to be tried 
by the King personally and by no other judges than his 
peers. At the same time he published an address to the 
King in which he defended his public actions in a mas- 
terly manner, convincing every unbiased mind not only 
of his patriotic devotion to his country, but also of his 
loyalty to his sovereign in all his legitimate and consti- 
tutional acts of government. The Duke of Alva took no 
further notice of this defence ; but when the day for 
William's appearance at court had passed, he was sen- 
tenced to death, and his property, personal and real, was 
confiscated as that of a rebel and traitor. 

In the meantime the Prince of Orange had not been 
idle in Germany. He had appealed to his co-religionists 
for assistance, pointing out to the Protestant princes that 
the cause of Protestantism itself was the issue of the war 
in the Netherlands, and that the complete victory of the 
Spanish army over the Netherlanders would be followed 
by an overthrow of the Protestant churches, both Luth- 
eran and Calvinistic, in Europe. He succeeded in collect- 
ing a considerable army, which he divided into two corps, 
placing the one under the command of his brother Lewis, 
Count of Nassau, and invading Brabant with the other. 
The Count of Nassau was defeated in battle and driven 
out of Frisia with heavy loss, while Alva avoided giving 
battle to the Prince of Orange. By skilful manoeuvres 
the Spanish general tired out the patience of the German 
troops, and when the severe cold of winter set in, the 
Prince, finding himself without means of paying his sol- 
diers and getting no support from the inhabitants (who 
were overawed by the Spanish authorities), had to dis- 

120 



WILLIAM OF ORANGE 

band his army and to return, temporarily, to Germany. 
Alva triumphed and pompously reported to the Spanish 
King that both the rebellion and heresy had been stamped 
out in the Netherlands, and that his presence was hardly 
required there any longer. In his overweening vanity 
he went even so far as to order a bronze monument to be 
erected in his own honor, in which he was represented as 
a conqueror, standing with one foot on a Dutch noble- 
man in full armor and with the other on a man of the 
people, kneeling and with a Lutheran prayer-book in his 
hands. 

It is not my intention to go into the details of the cruel 
war in the Netlierlands, — cruel even beyond human im- 
agination, — to recount the sufferings, the tortures, the 
atrocities, the martyrdom imposed upon the unfortunate 
victims of political and religious persecution, conceived 
by human fiends educated in the school of the Spanish 
Inquisition and warmly applauded by him whom both his 
cotemporaries and posterity have justly named " the 
demon of the South." Such a war had never been seen 
between nations claiming to be civilized ; and never has 
patriotic devotion in defence of home and country, of lib- 
erty and creed, been carried to a higher degree than by 
those brave Netherlanders in the sixteenth century. The 
world should never forget the immense service which they 
rendered to mankind by victoriously maintaining the 
principles of religious liberty, which, without their heroic 
perseverance, would very likely have perished under the 
incubus of Spanish despotism and the Spanish Inquisi- 
tion. That they did not succumb and perish must be 
considered one of the marvellous enigmas of history, 
in which the finger of God is plainly visible. Immortal 

121 



FAMOUS ASSASSINATIONS 

glory and renown should be accorded to the gallant leader 
who, under the most discouraging and desperate circum- 
stances, never lost hope and confidence in the righteous- 
ness and final triumph of his cause, and who, undaunted 
by personal danger and persecution, never wavered in 
his loyalty to principle, and held high the banner of 
popular sovereignty and individual liberty, until the 
pistol shot of a hired assassin interrupted his glorious 
career. 

If to-day, after the lapse of three centuries, we look 
back upon that career, our admiration for William of 
Orange grows steadily. We follow him from his first 
appearance on the public stage of the Netherlands, as a 
friend and confidant of Charles the Fifth, as a loyal ad- 
viser of the Duchess Regent, as a loyal subject pleading 
with Philip the Second and warning him to respect the 
rights of citizenship and religion of the Netherlanders, — 
pleading and warning in vain ; we behold him unsheath- 
ing his sword for the defence and, when they appeared to 
be lost, for the recovery of those rights, toiling, strug- 
gling, fighting for the people, always subordinating his 
own interests to those of the nation and to the sublime 
cause of which he was the acknowledged champion ; we 
recognize him as the first in the field, the first in the 
council-room, filling his countrymen with an enthusi- 
asm and a confidence which alone could sustain them 
in undergoing suflferings and hardships unequalled in 
history. Thus he stands before us fully realizing and 
even surpassing the eulogy which Goethe wrote for 
the monument of another national hero, perhaps worthy, 
but certainly not so worthy of it as William the 
Silent : — 

122 



WILLIAM OF ORANGE 

" In advance or retreat, 
In success or defeat, 
Ever conscious and great, 
Ever watchful to see, 
From foreign dominion he made us free ! " 

In translating Goethe's inscription on the famous 
Bliicher monument at Rostock we were strongly im- 
pressed with the fact that it was even better adapted 
for a monument of the great Prince of Orange than for 
that of the indomitable, but rather reckless, " Marshal 
Vorwarts." 

The King of Spain had from the first day of his acces- 
sion known the powerful influence which the Prince of 
Orange exerted in the Netherlands. The Prince stood 
without a rival at the head of the nobility, and his eminent 
talents enhanced the authority which his illustrious birth 
had secured for him. The King was also informed by 
his special representatives — the Duchess Regent, Gran- 
vella, the Duke of Alva, Don John of Austria, and others 
— that this authority was steadily increasing, that the 
great mass of the people idolized the Prince, that his wish 
was a law for the burghers, and that practically the revolt, 
its failure or success, depended on him. The exalted 
character of the Prince precluded the very idea of win- 
ning him over to the other side by means of high distinc- 
tions or honors, much less by pecuniary bribes or corrup- 
tion, and nothing remained therefore for the King to do, 
if he wanted to get rid of the dangerous popular leader, 
who held a number of the provinces entirely under his 
sway, than to place him beyond the pale of the law and to 
offer a high reward for his head. This method of remov- 
ing rivals or enemies was not unusual in those days ; and 

123 



FAMOUS ASSASSINATIONS 

it should cause no surprise that the monarch who is, and 
very Ukcly justly, suspected of having ordered the murder 
of his half-brother, Don Juan d' Austria, and also that of 
his own son. Don Carlos, was perfectly willing to adopt 
this method of getting rid of the Prince of Orange, who 
in his eyes was not only a rebel, but also a heretic, and as 
such deserved death a hundredfold. The price he put 
on the Prince's head — twenty-five thousand ducats — 
showed sufficiently the importance he attached to his life, 
and how willing he was to tempt assassins by the enor- 
mous sum of the reward. 

The King, who evidently had experience in such mat- 
ters, had not miscalculated the temptation, for several 
attempts were made on the Prince's life in consequence; 
but they always failed, and it would almost seem as if 
that life was under the special protection of Providence 
that it might carry out the plans predestined for it. In 
1582. Juan Jaureguy. a young man in the employ of a 
Spanish merchant of Antwerp, and a religious fanatic, 
fired a pistol shot at the Prince which came very near 
killing him. The ball entered the head under the right 
ear, passed through the roof of the mouth, breaking sev- 
eral teeth, and came out under the left jaw-bone. For a 
while the Prince's life was despaired of, but he finally 
rallied and recovered. His would-be assassin was imme- 
diately killed, and his accomplices, of whom there were 
several, were publicly strangled and quartered. In order 
to deter others from making attempts on the Prince's life, 
the ghastly remains of these accomplices, one of them a 
Dominican monk, were nailed to the gates of Antwerp. 
The joy at the Prince's recovery was general, and thanks- 
giving days, with divine service in the churches and pub- 

124 



WILLIAM OF ORANGE 

lie halls, were held in a number of the provinces. Unfor- 
tunately neither these public demonstrations of gratitude 
and delight, nor the terrible warnings addressed to assas- 
sins were sufficient to protect a life so valuable to his 
country and to the world. 

Another assassin was more successful than Jaureguy. 
The scene of the murder, which took place on the tenth 
day of July, 1584, was the city of Delft in Holland. 
Shortly after the noon hour of that day a common-looking 
man, who had found access to the Prince's residence for 
the purpose of securing a passport, approached the Prince 
as he came from the dining-hall and fired three shots at 
him, one passing through the stomach and causing his 
death after a very short while. The assassin was a man 
still young, less than thirty years of age. He was a 
Frenchman, Balthasar Gerard by name, who had come 
from his home in Franche-Comte or Burgundy to carry 
out his hellish design, which was inspired by religious 
fanaticism and encouraged by Jesuits of the College of 
Treves. Through these he was introduced to the Duke 
of Parma, then Governor-General of the Netherlands, who 
promised him the royal reward in case of success, and 
other royal favors besides. Gerard had made his prep- 
arations for the murder with considerable circumspec- 
tion ; these preparations were very similar to those which 
Booth made for his escape after the murder of Abraham 
Lincoln, and just like Booth, Gerard stumbled and fell 
in making his escape and hurt himself, and this led to 
his arrest. 

After having undergone the most terrible tortures, his 
joints having been wrenched and his body nearly roasted 
alive, he was executed in the most cruel manner imagin- 

125 



FAMOUS ASSASSINATIONS 

able. His right hand was burnt off with red-hot irons ; 
the flesh was torn from half a dozen different parts of 
his body, which was then broken on the wheel. Gerard 
was still alive ; his vitality was wonderful. The execu- 
tioners then disembowelled and quartered him ; tore out 
his heart and flung it in his face. It was then only that 
the unfortunate man breathed his last. His head was 
then cut off and placed on a pike of a gate in the rear of 
the Prince's residence, and the four parts of his body were 
fastened to the four gates of the city. This cruel mutila- 
tion and dismemberment of the assassin's body was hardly 
sufficient to satisfy the vengeance of the people ; the cer- 
tainty that the King of Spain stooped even to murder 
of the basest sort to recover his sovereignty over the 
Netherlands exalted their desire for absolute and lasting 
national independence to a sort of religious dogma which 
made all hope of peace illusory. 

When the assassin's hand cut short the life of the 
Prince of Orange, he had not completed the great work 
for which he had toiled, fought, suffered and died. But 
part of that work had been done, and it had been done so 
well and so thoroughly that the Republic stood on a firm 
foundation ready to receive the other provinces which 
were still in the power of Spain as a fitting superstruc- 
ture. For this reason history recognizes William the 
Silent as the founder of the Dutch Republic and of the 
independence of the United Provinces. 

To Americans the character of William the Silent is of 
special interest because it bears, in many respects, a strik- 
ing resemblance to that of George Washington. Both 
were the principal figures in wars for the independence of 
their countries ; both were soldiers and statesmen of a 

126 



WILLIAM OF ORANGE 

high order. If Washington was very Hkely the greater 
general, WilHam the Silent was very likely the greater 
statesman, and the success of the American cause would 
have been as impossible without Washington as the fail- 
ure of the Dutch struggle would have been certain with- 
out William of Orange. Both were sterling patriots and 
subordinated their own interests to those of the nations 
they represented ; but in this respect Washington was, 
perhaps, superior to William, who had an eye on the 
possibilities which might arise after a successful issue of 
the war. It should be remembered, however, that Wil- 
liam of Orange was a prince and sovereign before he was 
made the head of the Netherlanders rising in revolt 
against Spain, and that, as a sovereign, it was natural for 
him to look after the interests of his family and dynasty. 
As far as mental and moral qualifications are concerned, 
both men were distinguished by that perfect equilibrium 
of powers of the mind and powers of the soul, which is 
but rarely found in men of the highest rank. Neither of 
these statesmen had the capacity of immediately con- 
ceiving and executing plans of a decisive character. 
Their minds, although full of resources, worked slowly 
in elaborating such plans ; they weighed and hesitated 
before taking action ; but as soon as their minds had been 
made up and a plan had been resolved upon, they acted 
without wavering, and held on to it until success or failure 
resulted from it. The great respect in which Washington 
has been always held by British historians and statesmen 
is, perhaps, the noblest tribute that can be paid to his 
character and abilities. The fact that Philip the Second 
relied less on his splendid armies, led by some of the 
ablest generals of Europe, and on his powerful navy, than 

127 



FAMOUS ASSASSINATIONS 

on the death of William the Silent is, perhaps, the greatest 
eulog}^ which can be given to the great founder of the 
Dutch Republic. Unquestionably the Spanish monarch 
considered the twenty-five thousand gold pieces which he 
offered for the assassination of William of Orange, al- 
though an enormous sum for those times, but a very cheap 
equivalent for the life of a man who had been the very life 
and soul, the inspiring genius of the rebellious Dutch 
provinces. If monuments of foreign statesmen and rulers 
are to be erected on American soil, no fitter and no 
worthier man can be found for that honor than William 
the Silent. 



128 



CHAPTER XI 
IVAN THE TERRIBLE 




IVAN THE TERRIBLE 



CHAPTER XI 

ASSASSINATIONS BY IVAN THE TERRIBLE 
(1560-1584) 

RUSSIAN history abounds in instances of famous 
assassinations. Sometimes these murders were 
committed by the rulers of Russia, at other times these 
rulers themselves were the victims. Ivan the Fourth, 
whose very surname, " the Terrible," sufficiently indi- 
cates his character, was one of the most cruel and in- 
human monarchs who ever ruled over a nation, either 
in ancient or modern times. It is therefore not one 
famous assassination which we wish to describe, but a 
series of monstrous crimes, unparalleled in history as 
the acts of one individual. 

Ivan was only three years old when his father died. 
A regency was formed, composed of his mother and a 
council of boyars, belonging to different factions, who 
were constantly at war with one another. At no time had 
Russia been more poorly governed. As Ivan grew up, 
he was despised and maltreated by the haughty nobility ; 
his favorites were abused. In order to divert his mind 
from nobler occupations and keep him in profound igno- 
rance of public affairs, he was amused and entertained 
with coarse and brutal games which developed his in- 
nate cruelty and ferocity, and made him, at an early 

131 



FAMOUS ASSASSINATIONS 

age, the terror of those who were subordinated to him. 
He dehghted in torturing and slowly killing domestic 
animals, and also in crippling and killing old men and 
old women whom he encountered in the streets while 
riding fast horses or driving a carriage like a madman, 
without looking either right or left. He was a mere boy 
yet — hardly fourteen — when the boyars began to fear 
him and predicted a reign of terror when he should as- 
sume the reins of government. 

At seventeen, he dissolved the regency and declared 
his intention to reign for himself. He also wanted to 
get married, and sent out messengers to the different 
provinces of the Empire to pick out the most beautiful 
young girls and send them to the capital, that he might 
choose a wife from among their number. Many noble- 
men hid their handsome daughters, or sent them far 
away from home on hearing of the Czar's intention. His 
reputation for excessive cruelty had reached already the 
remotest parts of the Empire, and nearly every boyar 
trembled at the mere idea of becoming his father-in-law. 
But the messenger succeeded nevertheless in bringing 
together several hundred young girls of extraordinary 
beauty, and sent them to the capital. Ivan then chose 
from their number Anastasia Romanowna, a young girl 
of great beauty and great brilliancy of mind. He fell 
desperately in love with her, and through the superiority 
of her mind she gained a great influence over him, and 
succeeded even in keeping his cruelty in check. 

Ivan was a man of natural ability. He had some 
striking qualities, and might have been a great ruler if 
his education had been entrusted to competent and wise 
teachers. At an early age he learned the art of dissem- 

132 



IVAN THE TERRIBLE 

bling to perfection, and possessed the rare faculty of 
keeping his plans and intentions secret even from his 
closest friends. It was only after the conquest of Kasan 
that he threw off the mask. Until then he had been ex- 
ceedingly friendly and kind to a number of the powerful 
noblemen, who considered themselves almost his peers 
in rank and birth. But when that conquest had added 
to his power and authority, he suddenly said to his 
boyars : " At last I am free ! God has made me the mas- 
ter over all. Beware ! " Again it was his wife, Anastasia 
Romanowna, who with rare political sagacity prevented 
him from too openly showing hostility and impatience 
at their pretentious conduct. He was very young, and 
could afford to wait. But in 1560, when Ivan was only 
twenty-nine years old, Anastasia, his best friend and his 
ablest counsellor, died, and he found no loving hand to 
restrain his passions and keep his cruelty and ferocity 
in check. Neverthelees, for some time after her death 
the softening influence of his wife (whom he had 
really loved) over his cruel nature made itself felt, 
and for the next four years he proceeded rather cau- 
tiously. He considered all the boyars his enemies and 
traitors ; and he commenced murdering them, one at a 
time. 

In 1564 he threw off all restraint. He suddenly dis- 
appeared with all his soldiers and servants, and rumors 
were circulated that he intended to abdicate the crown 
and to retire from public life. The abject fear in which 
the people had lived for thirty years had fully demoral- 
ized them. Boyars, clergymen, and the great mass of 
the people went nearly crazy at the idea that their " dear 
little father " would no longer rule over them. At last 

133 



FAMOUS ASSASSINATIONS 

they discovered his place of retirement, and the mani- 
festations of pubHc dehght at this discovery were almost 
boundless. Delegation after delegation waited upon him 
and implored him on their knees that he might return to 
his capital and continue to govern them. At last Ivan 
consented to return, but he consented conditionally. He 
demanded — and they all cheerfully agreed to the de- 
mand — that he should have full and absolute power to 
punish all his enemies and all traitors by banishment or 
death and confiscation of their property, without being 
interfered with, even by the clergy. It was a regular 
coup d'etat. From this act dates the absolute rule of 
the emperors of Russia, and Ivan the Fourth thence- 
forth took the official title of " Czar of all the Rus- 
sias," which his successors have retained to the present 
day. 

Ivan had carefully matured his plan. He took posses- 
sion of a certain number of cities and country districts, 
expelled the proprietors from them, declared them ter- 
ritory forfeited to the government, and distributed them 
among certain of his own adherents upon whose fidelity 
he could count. These adherents generally were taken 
from the lowest classes of the people, knew no other law 
than the will of their master, and obeyed him blindly. 
While confiscating all these estates without mercy or 
hesitation, on the most trivial or far-fetched pretexts, he 
was shrewd enough to respect constitutional rights in 
other parts of the Empire. His plan was to increase the 
imperial private domains gradually to enormous pro- 
portions by dispossessing year after year the legitimate 
proprietors of the soil, and by this method to destroy the 
power of the nobility. In order to accomplish this pur- 

134 



IVAN THE TERRIBLE 

pose he did not hesitate to employ the most cruel and 
disreputable means for the conviction and punishment 
of his intended victims. 

One of his favorite ways for entrapping and punish- 
ing a rich boyar was to order one of the servants em- 
ployed in the imperial household to steal jewelry or 
other valuables, and then to seek refuge in the boyar's 
residence. Of course, the fugitive was closely pursued 
by the Czar's guards, drawn from his hiding-place, and 
then massacred together with the boyar and his family, 
who, the Czar pretended to believe, were the thief's ac- 
complices and deserved death as well as the offender. 
But much oftener the terrible Czar rushed down, with a 
numerous suite of his followers, upon the residence of 
a wealthy boyar, put all the men, the children and the 
old women of the domain to the sword, carried off the 
young women and girls, and abandoned them on the 
highways after he and his gang had satisfied their de- 
sires on them. On the trumped up charge that Grand 
Duke Wladimir, his own cousin, as well as the Grand 
Duke's wife and grown daughters had participated in a 
conspiracy against the Czar's life, he forced him to com- 
mit suicide by drinking poison, while the Grand Duchess 
and her beautiful young daughters, and all their ladies 
of honor and female servants, were divested of their 
garments, exposed in a state of complete nudity on the 
market space of the town adjacent to their domain, and 
afterwards butchered in cold blood. Wladimir's im- 
mense wealth and all his real estate were confiscated 
by the crown. In this manner Ivan succeeded in over- 
powering the boyars, one after another, in a very short 
time, and acquiring immense wealth. He visited the 

135 



FAMOUS ASSASSINATIONS 

different provinces and departments in succession, and 
wherever he appeared he left a track of desolation, 
rapine, and murder. From the capital of each province 
he organized marauding tours in all directions, placing 
each under the command of an ofBcer on whose devotion 
to himself and ferocity to others he could count. But 
the most terrible expeditions were those which he com- 
manded himself. It can truthfully be said that wherever 
Ivan "visited," he destroyed everything in sight, — not 
only the human inhabitants, but also the farm and domes- 
tic animals, even dogs and cats. He took also a pleas- 
ure in draining ponds and creeks, so as to cause the fish 
to die, and after having killed or mutilated all things liv- 
ing, he ordered the buildings to be set on fire, and left 
the scene of his cruelty and lust amidst the wild huzzas 
of his comrades. No civilized, or half-civilized country 
had ever witnessed such atrocities on the part of its own 
ruler. 

If Ivan was not travelling and marauding he resided 
generally in the Alexandrowna Convent, which he had 
strongly fortified. This convent, situated in the neigh- 
borhood of Moscow, and surrounded by dense forests, 
was not only the scene of his bestial orgies and excesses, 
and of his more than beastly cruelty, but also of his 
hypocritical zeal for religion and divine service. The 
convent, although transformed into a palace, remained 
still a convent. Ivan's most abject and infamous favor- 
ites were acting as monks, while Ivan himself performed 
the functions of the pontiff. He also acted as a bell- 
ringer for the church. Quite early in the morning, at 
four o'clock, mass was read and public service was held 
in the church, lasting till seven o'clock. Regularly every 

136 



IVAN THE TERRIBLE 

evening, from seven to eight o'clock, there was again 
divine service. The time intervening between the dinner 
and the last church service was employed by him in going 
to the torture rooms of the palace where his victims — 
and there was always a number of them — were sub- 
jected to the most excruciating pain, and in many cases 
tortured to death. To be invited to these scenes of 
horror was a mark of imperial favor. 

Ivan was never in better humor or happier than after 
having witnessed the tortures or the execution of a man 
whom he had sacrificed to his greed for wealth or to his 
vindictiveness. It is reported that one day when one 
hundred and twenty persons were to be executed — either 
strangled, hung, beheaded, or quartered — at Moscow, 
and when the inhabitants of the streets near the place of 
the execution had fled in horror from the neighborhood, 
the Czar sent out his soldiery and compelled thousands 
of citizens to be spectators of the wholesale butchery. 
He sat there himself on an elevated stage applauding the 
torturers and executioners when, in his opinion, they had 
done their task well and had prolonged the agony of the 
victim as much as possible. When the cruel spectacle 
was over, he rose to his feet and addressed the spectators 
as follows : " My loyal subjects ! You have seen torture 
and death ! Some of you are horror-struck at what you 
have witnessed ! My punishment is severe, but it is just. 
All these men and women were traitors to their Czar, 
and deserved to die. Answer me, was I right in pun- 
ishing them ? " And the tremendous audience, almost 
frightened to death, as with one voice replied : " Glory 
and long life to the Czar ! Death to the traitors ! " The 
sight of blood, of suffering and of death seemed to have 

137 



FAMOUS ASSASSINATIONS 

an intoxicating effect on this unparalleled monster, and 
he never tired of it to the day of his death. 

The high dignitaries of the Church fared no better at 
Ivan's hands. Whenever they stood in the way of his 
ambition, or whenever they presumed to criticise him for 
his crimes, he treated them with the same cruelty and 
inflicted the same punishments upon them as upon the 
boyars. In that way he imposed silence on the clergy, 
and caused them even to sanction his worst misdeeds. 
But one day, after an especially atrocious marauding 
expedition of the Czar, the Metropolitan of Moscow 
mustered sufficient courage to reprimand him publicly. 
On the twenty-second of March, 1568, Ivan entered the 
cathedral, expecting the blessing of the high-priest. The 
latter did not stir, but kept his eyes fixed upon a picture 
representing Christ in all his glory. "Holy Father," said 
one of the boyars to the Metropolitan, " the Czar is 
here; bless him! " " I do not recognize the Czar! " re- 
plied the Metropolitan. " Since this world was created 
and the sun was placed in the skies, 1^ has never been 
known that a Czar has committed! such atrocities and 
crimes in his own state as ours has. Here in this church 
we offer our prayers to God, and beyond its walls the 
blood of innocent Christians is shed in torrents." Then 
turning to Ivan, he said in a loud voice : " The very 
stones under thy feet will rise against thee and cry out 
against thy crimes and atrocities ! God has bidden me 
tell you and warn you, even if I should suffer death for 
my boldness ! " And death was his punishment, although 
not at the very moment. As a rebel, he was sentenced 
to imprisonment for life at Twer. But it happened so 
that Ivan, the year after, passed through Twer on one 

138 



IVAN THE TERRIBLE 

of his marauding expeditions. It was then that he re- 
membered PhiHp, the Metropohtan, who had accosted 
him so boldly. He sent half a dozen of his soldiers to 
the prison, and they strangled the Metropolitan without 
previous notice. This assassination paved the way for 
many others among the clergy, until Ivan had so intimi- 
dated them that thenceforth not even a whisper was 
heard among them against his cruelties. 

It then became apparent how readily the example of 
an infamous ruler is followed by his courtiers and at- 
tendants. The boyars and officers accompanying him 
on his expeditions of murder and pillage tried to sur- 
pass him in iniquity ; in their very appearance they 
showed their true character, adorning themselves with 
symbols of their ferocity. When they started on their 
marauding tour, they attached a bleeding dog's-head 
and a broom to the neck and saddle of each horse, sig- 
nifying by these decorations that they would bite like 
savage dogs and sweep off the ground all they could 
find. Whomsoever they found on the highways they 
would arrest and "hang as traitors to the Czar, and 
in the villages and towns on their route they would 
commit the most horrid excesses, sparing neither sex 
nor age. If the inhabitants had fled at their approach, 
they reported them to the Czar as his enemies who 
were plotting against his life, and he issued decrees 
of vengeance declaring their property confiscated and 
their lives forfeited. In this way they kept the inhabi- 
tants at home waiting in terror for the arrival of their 
tormentors. 

After having decimated and terrorized the nobility and 
the clergy, Ivan turned his attention principally to the 

139 



FAMOUS ASSASSINATIONS 

merchants and wealthy citizens. The commercial cen- 
tres, in which a great amount of capital had accumulated, 
were the special objects of his greed, especially if they 
showed a spirit of independence. Prominent among these 
was Novgorod, the ancient and wealthy city, proud of 
her free institutions and her honored name. It was this 
pride and her great wealth which pointed out Novgorod 
as a victim for Ivan's wrath and cupidity, and the man- 
ner in which he planned and executed his evil designs 
on the city shows his diabolical genius at its height. 
Never has tyrant or despot conceived a more sinister 
and treacherous plot for the ruin of a great city and for 
the assassination of its inhabitants. The horrors of St. 
Bartholomew's night pale in comparison. 

A Polish vagabond, on the personal command of Ivan, 
wrote a petition, with the forged signatures of the Arch- 
bishop of Novgorod and a large number of leading and 
wealthy citizens and addressed to the King of Poland, 
in which the latter was supplicated to assume the sov- 
ereignty over Novgorod and the province in which it 
was situated, and to assist the citizens in their desire of 
shaking ofiP the yoke of Ivan. By Ivan's direction this 
petition was concealed in the great cathedral, behind a 
picture of the Holy Virgin. The Polish vagabond, after 
having executed the task dictated to him, came to Mos- 
cow and charged the city of Novgorod with treasonable 
designs against the Czar. Upon this information the 
Czar immediately sent messengers with the Polish vaga- 
bond to Novgorod, where, as a matter of course, the 
forged petition was found hidden behind the picture of 
the Holy Virgin in the cathedral. This was considered 
proof sufficient to condemn the whole city. No further 

140 



IVAN THE TERRIBLE 

investigation was deemed necessary. Ivan kept quiet, 
but the inhabitants knew what was in store for them. 
They trembled and waited. They had not to wait a long 
time. Two weeks after the discovery, on the twenty- 
first day of January, 1570, the first detachments of 
an imperial army, commanded by some of Ivan's most 
trusted and most cruel lieutenants, entered the city. 
They immediately proceeded to seal the doors of all the 
churches and chapels, and took possession of the resi- 
dences of the wealthy inhabitants, where they estab- 
lished their headquarters. All traffic was suspended. 
No citizen was permitted to leave the city, nor could 
goods of any kind be shipped from it. A dead silence 
and fear hung over the city. Nobody knew what the 
Czar intended to do, but that he would do something 
horrible, everybody felt, and also that there was no es- 
cape from him. 

At last he came. He took up his residence in the 
Archbishop's palace. He treated the priests and the 
Archbishop himself like servants ; he drank and feasted 
with his boyars, while the priests had to wait upon him 
at table. And then suddenly, when he rose, he uttered 
a loud shout of triumph, and this was the signal for his 
lieutenants to order a general pillage throughout the 
city. Without any control by their superiors, the sol- 
diers committed plunder, murder, violence, and outrages 
of all kinds. The treasures accumulated in the churches 
and large business houses Ivan had reserved for himself, 
and his orders were strictly observed ; nobody touched 
what he had designated for his share. The palace of 
the Archbishop became the scene of the most beastly 
orgies and excesses. The wives and daughters of the 

141 



FAMOUS ASSASSINATIONS 

noblest families were dragged before Ivan, and after 
having picked out the most beautiful for his own use, 
he turned the others over to his lieutenants and com- 
panions. Many of the unfortunate women committed 
suicide, many others died from the effects of the terrible 
abuse to which they had been subjected. The Czar knew 
no pity. " Such scenes of horror, iniquity, and inhuman- 
ity," says a foreign eye-witness, " had not been seen in 
the world since the destruction of Jerusalem." 

The work of devastation, pillage, murder, violence, 
and incendiarism lasted five weeks. At last the Czar 
thought it was time to stop the bloody carnival. The 
measure was full to overflowing, — ndt only the meas- 
ure of misery, affliction, distress, and death for the un- 
fortunate and innocent inhabitants of Novgorod, but 
also the measure of lust and cruelty for himself. The 
constant indulgence in voluptuous excesses told upon 
his constitution ; he was worn out and surfeited with 
animal gratification ; his eyes had a vague, almost life- 
less expression ; his herculean frame commenced to 
tremble, his legs to totter. No less than twenty-seven 
thousand persons, men, women, and children, had per- 
ished ; there was not a family which did not lament 
one or more dead among its members. The corpses 
were thrown into the river, and at some points they 
had been thrown in in such numbers that the river 
was impeded in its current. On the first day of the 
sixth week, Ivan called citizens living in all the dif- 
ferent streets of the city together and addressed them 
as follows : " Men of Novgorod, and all of you who 
are still alive, pray to God and thank him for your 
escape from peril ; thank your Czar too, for it is to his 

142 



IVAN THE TERRIBLE 

mercy and his fear of God that you owe your safety ; 
and thank also his soldiers, whose humane treatment 
saved you from death. Pray to God that he may give 
us power and strength to vanquish all our enemies ! 
Much blood has been shed for the punishment of traitors. 
These traitors are responsible to God for all that has 
happened here during the last five weeks. May God 
have mercy on them. And now stop your crying and 
weeping! Live and be happy, and may your city grow 
and prosper ! " 

Caesar Borgia could not have done better than this 
brutal monster of the North. He was the genius of 
cruelty and hypocrisy personified in one man. 



143 



CHAPTER XII 
HENRY THE FOURTH OF FRANCE 



lO 



\ 




HENRY IV. 



CHAPTER XII 

ASSASSINATION OF HENRY THE FOURTH OF 

FRANCE 

(May 14, 1610) 

RELIGIOUS wars — that is to say, civil wars for 
religious causes — had desolated France for half 
a century, and tranquillity and apparent harmony had 
finally been restored only by the genius of one man — 
Henry the Fourth. He it was who issued the Edict of 
Nantes, conferring equal religious and political rights 
upon the professors of both religions, the Protestant 
and the Catholic. 

A short time after Martin Luther had inaugurated the 
great movement of religious reform in Germany, a simi- 
lar movement had also been organized in France ; but it 
was only since 1536 and through the influential and ener- 
getic agitation of John Calvin that it had assumed large 
dimensions and acquired a really national importance. 
After the disastrous battle of Pavia and after his release 
from Spanish captivity, King Francis the First had or- 
dered a cruel persecution against the Protestants for 
political reasons, but it had utterly failed to put a stop to 
this movement. On the contrary, a great many noblemen 
had joined the new church and the originally purely re- 
ligious movement had gradually assumed a pronounced 
political character. But this change of tendency only 

147 



FAMOUS ASSASSINATIONS 

added fuel to the flame of intolerance and persecution./ 
Not only were hundreds of professors of the new church 
most cruelly executed on the gallows or burnt alive for 
heresy, but among the Waldenses in Provence and in the 
valleys bordering on Savoy a wholesale massacre was 
inaugurated, which aimed at nothing less than their entire 
extirpation. On account of their peaceful and industrial 
habits, these people had for a long time enjoyed toleration 
in spite of their dissenting religious opinions. No less 
than twenty flourishing villages were destroyed and 
burned to the ground, and their entire population, men, 
women and children, were butchered in the most bar- 
barous manner. But it seemed as if the very horror 
which such acts of inhumanity inspired, and the heroic 
constancy and bravery with which these unfortunate vic- 
tims of religious fanaticism had sealed their convictions 
with their blood, had rather increased than diminished 
the ranks of the Protestants. The French translation of 
the Bible, which was secretly circulated throughout the 
kingdom, proved also a powerful means of propagandism 
for the principles of reform among the better educated 
and thinking classes. 

Francis the First died in 1547 and was succeeded by 
his son, Henry the Second, who considered the Protestant 
movement merely a political question, and treated it as 
such. In Germany he supported the Protestant princes 
in their fight against Charles the Fifth, but at home, in 
France, he persecuted the adherents of Calvin even more 
persistently and cruelly than his father had done. Hun- 
dreds of excellent citizens were sent to the gallows or to 
the stake for heresy, and even the possession or sale of 
a French Bible was deemed a sufficient crime to warrant 

148 



HENRY THE FOURTH OF FRANCE 

the death punishment. Henry the Second died after a 
reign of twelve years, in 1559, from a wound received 
in a tournament and inflicted accidentally by the captain 
of his own body-guard. His successor, Francis the 
Second, the husband of Mary, Queen of Scotland, was 
entirely under the control of his wife's uncles, the Duke 
of Guise and the Cardinal of Lorraine. For the Protes- 
tants matters grew worse and worse. Francis the Second, 
who was merely a boy, died after a reign of less than two 
years, and was succeeded by his brother Charles the 
Ninth, of bloody St. Bartholomew Night's memory. He 
was succeeded by Henry the Third, who after an inglori- 
ous reign, in which torrents of blood had flowed without 
quenching the fire of religious fanaticism, was assassi- 
nated in 1589 by Jacques Clement, a young Dominican 
monk, who had become exasperated at the concessions 
which the King had made to the Protestant Church. 
Before expiring. King Henry the Third recognized the 
young King of Navarre as his successor, who then as- 
cended the throne of France under the name of Henry 
the Fourth. 

The wars which devastated France during the preced- 
ing three reigns were waged almost without interruption ; 
they were of a semi-religious and semi-political character. 
These wars must be largely ascribed to the pernicious 
influence of Catherine de Medicis, the wife of Henry the 
Second, and the mother of his three sons, Francis the 
Second, Charles the Ninth and Henry the Third. Her 
name stands in history as a synonym for an astute, un- 
scrupulous, cruel, and intriguing ruler and politician. At 
the time of Henry the Third's assassination, he was in- 
vesting the city of Paris, which was in the hands of his 

149 



FAMOUS ASSASSINATIONS 

enemies, the League, under the command of the Duke 
of Mayenne, who himself was aspiring to the throne. It 
was therefore not an easy matter for the new King to 
assume the reins of government, the half of his kingdom 
being in arms against him, and the royal army itself, in 
whose ranks he was lighting, being hostile to the religion 
he (as a Protestant) professed. 

But HenrN' the Fourth was equal to the difficult task. 
In fact, he was one of the most remarkable men who ever 
sat on a European throne. His career up to that day had 
been extremely stomiy ; his escape from death and perils 
innumerable was wonderful and stamped him as a man 
of destiny. It is reported of him that when he was pres- 
ent one day as a ver\- young man at a brilliant reception 
at the French court, where nearly all the prominent men 
of the French capital were assembled, he strongly im- 
pressed the foreign ambassadors with the brilliancy of 
his wnt and the sagacity of his observations. One of 
them said : *' In this whole assemblage of dukes, princes 
and great dignitaries, I see but one man fit to rule either 
as king or emperor," and pointing to Henry of Nav^arre 
he continued : " It is that young man with the eye of an 
eagle ! "' 

Henry tlie Faurtli was born in 1553, tlie son of Antony 
of Bourbon. His mother was Jeanne d'Albret, only child 
of Henry the Second, King of Navarre, and of his wife, 
Queen Margaret of Navarre, w ho has won a lasting place 
in literature by her famous collection of novels, known as 
the ** Heptameron." Much of the genius and esprit which 
distinguished the grandmother was inherited both by her 
daughter and her grandson. Jeanne d'Albret was not 
only an excellent woman and mother, but she was also an 

150 



HEXRY THE FOURTH OF FRANCE 

enthusiastic admirer and supporter of the Calvinistic 
doctrine, and brought up her son in that faith. On ac- 
count of her reHgion both Philip the Second of Spain and 
Catherine de Medicis, Queen of France, hated her in- 
tensely, and it seems that at an early day a sort of rivalry- 
arose between Catherine and the mother of the boy con- 
cerning his education. Catherine maintained that, inas- 
much as Henr\' was a royal prince and might be called 
upon some day to ascend the throne of France, it was 
absolutely necessary' to educate him in the Catholic faith 
in order to make him worthy to rule over a Catholic coun- 
try and occupy a throne whose occupant had for centuries 
been honored with the noble title of the " eldest son of 
the Church." 

In this contest over the boy the mother remained vic- 
torious, and, true to her religious convictions, she sur- 
rounded him with Protestant professors. But Catherine 
de Medicis was not a woman to abandon a scheme which 
she had formed and in which politics played a large part. 
She therefore concocted a plan for the abduction of young 
Henry, which would have succeeded and would have 
placed him under the immediate control of Philip the 
Second of Spain, had it not been betrayed to Henr}-'s 
mother, the Queen of Xavarre. Henr\- was thereupon 
hurried off to La Rochelle, the headquarters of the Prot- 
estant army, where he was soon placed in nominal com- 
mand of all the Protestant foi*ces, although the famous 
Admiral Coligny was its real leader. 

We may fitly pass without comment the stormy years 
preceding Henry's elevation to the throne of France. In 
order to reconcile the Protestant and the Catholic branches 
of the reigning dynasty, Catherine de Medicis was suc- 

151 



FAMOUS ASSASSINATIONS 

cessful in her plan of a marriage between Henry of 
Navarre and her own daughter Marguerite, although 
the Pope hesitated a long time in giving his permission 
to this family alliance, which was in every respect a very 
unfortunate one. As far as Catherine de Medicis was 
concerned, her principal intention in planning it was the 
hope of continuing under Henry the Fourth's reign (if 
he ever should become king) the absolute rule which she 
had so successfully maintained under the reign of her 
sons. Far from using her influence and authority to 
secure, if possible, the happiness of the young couple, she 
held out to both all possible temptations to lead them 
astray, and openly advanced Henry's liaisons with other 
beautiful ladies of the court. It is also pretty well estab- 
lished by historical evidence that Catherine, in order to 
withdraw Henry from the beneficial influence of his 
mother, caused her death by poison in the very year of 
his marriage. At the massacre of St. Bartholomew's 
night, Henry escaped death by abjuring Protestantism, 
King Charles the Ninth having left him the choice be- 
tween going to mass and sufifering death. Henry pre- 
ferred the former and professed Catholicism as his re- 
ligion until 1576, when he suddenly and secretly left the 
court, and, retracting his forced abjuration, placed him- 
self once more at the head of the Protestant party. 

/In 1584 the death of the Duke of Anjou made Henry 
the legitimate heir to the crown of France, and five years 
later, the death of Henry the Third made him King. But 
only the southern provinces and the Protestants recog- 
nized him as their king. The Catholics vehemently pro- 
tested against this heretical king, and refused obedience 
to him. The League, which kept an army of 30,000 men 

152 



HENRY THE FOURTH OF FRANCE 

in the field against him, and which was supported by the 
King- of Spain, not only refused to recognize him, but 
proclaimed an aged uncle of his, the Cardinal de Bourbon, 
King of France, and Spain adhered to this decision./ The 
civil war between the contending factions continued with 
greater fury and obstinacy than ever, and it was in this 
campaign, in which Henry always fought against tre- 
mendous odds, that he displayed his wonderful ability 
and tact as a political and military leader. Finally his 
second conversion to Catholicism on the twenty-third of 
July, 1593, which was simply a political measure and not 
at all dictated by religious motives, decided the succes- 
sion to the throne in his favor, although it took years of 
warfare and diplomatic negotiation to secure his recog- 
nition by Spain and the leaders of the League. 

Henry the Fourth's greatest political achievement, by 
which he manifested his far-seeing ability as a states- 
man, was the Edict of Nantes, promulgated on the thir- 
teenth of April, 1598. It guaranteed freedom of con- 
science and equality before the law to Catholics and 
Protestants ; and it was the first great manifesto of re- 
ligious toleration issued by any ruler. But noble and 
high-minded as it w^as, even if inspired only by political 
motives, the fanatics of the Catholic Church would not 
forgive him. Unquestionably it was the Edict of Nantes 
which caused his assassination, — an act of revenge with 
which the Church paid back the injury it supposed it 
had received at his hands. 

Henry, with the assistance of his great minister, the 
Duke of Sully, devoted the first few years, after peace 
had been restored, to building up the prosperity of the 
country, which had been distracted by war for nearly 

153 



FAMOUS ASSASSINATIONS 

forty years. In this he admirably succeeded. With 
wonderful rapidity the monarchy recovered from the 
disasters and calamities of the religious and civil wars. 
Without Henry's success, late as it came, this national 
improvement would have been impossible, and France 
would have sunk into the same condition of intellectual 
lethargy and material decay from which Spain has suf- 
fered for three centuries. But Henry's ambition went 
much beyond the borders of his kingdom. ./The house 
of Hapsburg, a branch of which ruled Spain, appeared 
to him too dangerous for the security and greatness of 
France. He supported the German Protestant princes 
in their opposition to Austria, which wanted to take 
possession of Juliers-Cleves, two German principalities, 
and sent an army of ten thousand men to their assistance. 
Henry wanted to join personally this army on the nine- 
teenth of May, 1610. On the thirteenth of May he pub- 
lished a decree appointing the Queen, Mary de Medicis, 
Regent of the kingdom, and her coronation was cele- 
brated on the same day with great pomp. 

On the fourteenth of May, the day after the corona- 
tion, the King was assassinated by Francis Ravaillac in 
the Ferroniere Street at Paris, where his carriage had 
stopped a few minutes. It was this short delay which 
gave Ravaillac a chance : he climbed upon the hind-wheel 
of the carriage and stabbed the King twice with a long 
poniard, with deadly effect. It was thus that the greatest 
King France has produced died at the hands of a miserable 
fanatic, at a moment too when, according to the state- 
ment of Sully, who knew him better than any other man, 
he had formed a plan of .establishing a great European 
confederation, founded on the civil equality of Catholics 

154 



HENRY THE FOURTH OF FRANCE 

and Protestants and on an equilibrium of power among 
the great nations of Europe. Ravaillac was executed 
with revolting barbarity on the twenty-seventh of May, 
but not even the repeated application of the torture 
elicited the least information as to the motives or the 
accomplices which he may have had in his crime./ 
Henry's death was a cruel loss not only for France, 
but for the whole world. 

The assassination of Henry the Fourth ended in France 
the era of famous political murders, which during the 
religious wars had taken oflf Coligny, Henry of Guise, 
and the two kings, Henry the Third and Henry the 
Fourth, all during one generation. But of these only 
the assassination of Henry the Fourth has made a last- 
ing and profound impression on his contemporaries as 
well as on posterity. It has enhanced his reputation and 
glory by enshrining his name among the great martyrs 
of history. It was one of the most patriotic and high- 
minded thoughts of Voltaire to make Henry the Fourth 
the hero of his epic poem " La Henriade," which al- 
though not ranking with the great poems of Milton, 
Tasso, and Virgil, in poetic merit, is still a noble hymn 
of liberty and a glorification of religious toleration, as 
well as of Henry, its representative. It is uncertain 
whether the profound horror which the assassination of 
Henry caused throughout the world, or the terrible pun- 
ishment inflicted on Ravaillac, caused assassins to desist 
from their nefarious work, but certain it is that no new 
assassination of a king or any member of the royal family 
of France took place from the death of Henry the Fourth 
to the assassination of the Due de Berry, the presumptive 
heir of Charles the Tenth, in 1820. Not that no attempts 

155 



FAAIOUS ASSASSINATIONS 

on the life of any or all of the French monarchs since 
the days of Henry the Fourth were made ; but all such 
attempts had failed, and instead of killing the rulers, 
had only led to the cruel and horrible execution of the 
conspirators. 

Most remarkable among these was the assault of 
Damiens on King Louis the Fifteenth, one of the most 
dissolute and worthless monarchs, — one who in the 
gratification of his lusts was utterly oblivious of common 
decency and shame. Louis the Fifteenth came nearer 
reviving the atrocious immorality of Claudius, Caligula, 
Caracalla, Heliogabalus in the palace of the Caesars of 
ancient Rome, than any other modern monarch had done. 
It was the age of Madame de Pompadour and the mon- 
strosities of the "deer park." The French nation blushed 
at the excesses of the court, which paved the way for 
the great Revolution, already dimly foreseen by some 
ingenious observers, as one of the necessities of the 
future. It was at this time, when public indignation, not 
to say public disgust, had reached its culminating point, 
that an attempt on the life of the King was made. 

It was on the fifth of January, 1757, at six o'clock in 
the evening, on a cold and dark day, that he stepped out 
of the doorway of the palace of Versailles and went up 
to a carriage waiting for him to take him to Trianon. 
All at once he felt that somebody had run against him, 
and at the same time that he was bleeding from a wound 
in the side. He uttered a cry of pain and alarm, and when 
the torch-bearers drew near and surrounded him, the King 
noticed a man who alone among all those present had 
kept his hat on. " This man has assaulted and wounded 
me ! " exclaimed the King, pointing to the man whose 

156 



HENRY THE FOURTH OF FRANCE 

head remained covered. " Arrest him, but do not harm 
him ! " It makes almost a painful im.pression to find 
that an embodiment of vice and debauchery like Louis 
the Fifteenth should at such a moment have been in- 
spired with feelings of mercy toward his assassin, and 
should have used almost the identical words which fell 
from the lips of the pure and high-minded President 
McKinley after Czolgosz had fatally wounded him ! But 
history records them, and we must give even the devil 
his due. 

The attempt on the King's life caused a tremendous 
sensation in Paris, where immediately the most exag- 
gerated reports concerning the fatal wounding of the 
King and the discovery of a widespread conspiracy to 
assassinate him were circulated. Damiens was treated 
with the greatest severity. As though the crime which 
he had tried to commit had been really committed, and 
as though the stab he had given to the King had had 
fatal effect, the criminal was treated as a regicide, and 
the terrible machinery of the law provided for in such 
cases, and in France not employed since the trial of 
Ravaillac, was put in operation. Even during his trans- 
portation from \"ersailles to Paris measures of precaution 
were used, as if a state prisoner of the most dangerous 
character and of the greatest importance were to be 
guarded. Regiments of soldiers surrounded his carriage, 
and six sergeants with drawn swords marched on each 
side. Strict orders had been issued to the citizens of 
Paris not to go out on the streets or appear at the front 
windows of their houses. Everything had been done to 
create the impression of a conspiracy against the govern- 
ment which counted many influential men among its mem- 

157 



FAMOUS ASSASSINATIONS 

bers and of which the assassin was merely the tool, while 
those who were directing him and using his arm against 
the King, had to be sought in the highest classes of the 
aristocracy, and especially among the enemies of Madame 
de Pompadour. Great efforts were made to get a full 
confession from Damiens. Who was he? How had he 
formed the plan to assassinate the King ? Who had insti- 
gated him to commit the act ? Who were his accomplices ? 
These were the questions to be solved by the French 
police authorities, and for whose solution they did not 
hesitate to apply the most cruel measures known to them. 
But the result of their painstaking investigation was far 
from realizing their expectations. It was found that 
Damiens belonged to the lower classes of the people. 
He had learned the trade of a locksmith, but had pre- 
ferred to enter the service of rich lords and ladies as a 
domestic. Being of a very restless and quarrelsome dis- 
position, he had changed his positions as often as Gil Bias 
had changed his masters. He had been in the houses of 
parliamentarians, clergymen, noblemen, orthodox Cath- 
olics, Jansenists, Molinists, Protestants, free thinkers. 
Often he had served at the table of the great lords and 
ladies of the kingdom and had listened to the conversation 
of the guests ; and invariably the subject of the conver- 
sation had turned on the disgraceful conduct of the King, 
on his excesses, on the shameful orgies of the court, on 
the mysteries of the " deer park," where not only the vir- 
tue of young girls of the people was ruthlessly sacrificed, 
but also the money extorted from the sweat of the people 
criminally squandered. Wherever he had gone he had 
heard the same story, and it had made a deep impression 
upon him. Damiens had always been of an eccentric 

158 



HENRY THE FOURTH OF FRANCE 

turn of mind ; he had even had spells of religious exal- 
tation, and for three years he had seriously meditated on 
the possibility of rescuing the King from his sinful ex- 
cesses and debauches. 

He finally had come to the conclusion that the only 
possibility of turning the King's mind away from his 
vicious habits and arousing his soul to sentiments of 
honor and duty might come through fear, by placing him 
in the immediate presence of death. This thought preyed 
so incessantly and so strongly on his mind that he resolved 
to become the instrument of the King's redemption, by 
attacking and wounding, but not killing him. The at- 
tempt on the King's life was therefore the result of a 
psychological process which was, perhaps, based on wrong 
and extravagant premises, but which, if all the circum- 
stances are taken into consideration, was rather meri- 
torious than criminal in its aim. The assassin had acted 
strictly in accord with his preconceived theory. He had 
in his possession a knife with two blades, one of which 
was very long, sharp and pointed like a dagger, while 
the other was quite short and sharp. It seemed to be 
impossible to inflict a mortal wound with the short blade, 
and Damiens had used it in wounding the King. He 
had no accomplices. At first, very likely to mitigate his 
punishment, he had hinted at the existence of a wide- 
spread conspiracy, contemplating the assassination of the 
King, the Dauphin, and others, but he soon retracted these 
statements, and even the most severe application of the 
torture could not elicit from him any other declaration 
than this : that he had no accomplices, that nobody, not 
even his wife and his young daughter, had known any- 
thing of his intention ; that he did -not intend to kill the 

159 



FAMOUS ASSASSINATIONS 

King, though he could easily have done so ; that he had 
only intended to wound him for the purpose of fright- 
ening and warning him ; that his act had been inspired 
by the wish of saving France and the dynasty. 

But all these statements, which could not be contro- 
verted by conflicting evidence, made no impression upon 
judges who had fully made up their minds beforehand, 
and who looked upon the man that wanted to touch even 
the King's finger with the same horror as upon a regicide 
who might have stabbed him through the heart and 
killed him. The sentence passed upon Damiens was 
therefore in conformity with their preconceived opinion, 
and cruel in the extreme. It was based upon the sen- 
tence carried out against Ravaillac for having killed the 
greatest of kings and one of the benefactors of mankind. 
Though Damiens was an eccentric ponderer, a foolish 
dreamer, who had but slightly wounded a heartless volup- 
tuary that had deserved death a hundred times, his sen- 
tence was terrible beyond description, and was actually 
carried out in the presence of an immense multitude. At 
first his right hand, in which was placed the knife with 
which he had struck the King, was burned to the bone. 
Thereupon his arms, his legs, his breast, his back and 
his feet were lacerated with burning tongs ; molten lead, 
boiling oil, burning sulphur, rosin, and wax were poured 
into the open wounds ; and finally, while he was still 
suffering unimaginable pain, four strong horses, hitched 
to his arms and legs, tried for half an hour with all 
their might to tear out his limbs. After that tim.e only 
one arm remained in the body, and it took another five 
minutes' work to pull it out of its socket. The body of 
the unfortunate man had been pulled to almost double its 

1 60 



HENRY THE FOURTH OF FRANCE 

length and width, and its power of resistance amazed all 
the spectators. When at last the cruel execution was 
over, the bleeding trunk and the arms and legs were 
thrown upon a pile of wood near the scaffold and de- 
stroyed by fire. The spectacle had struck terror into the 
hearts of the beholders. 

But even with this terrible act of revenge the criminal 
justice of France was not satisfied; it reached out for the 
innocent family of the criminal. His father, his wife, and 
his daughter were banished from France for life, not to 
return there on penalty of death, while his brothers, 
sisters, and other relatives had to change their names. 
The house in which he was born was burned to the 
ground, aud any other trace which he might have left 
was carefully obliterated. The crime of Damiens was 
not one of the famous assassinations in history, but it 
caused such a sensation in Europe, and it v/as punished 
so cruelly, that we thought his attempt on the life of 
Louis the Fifteenth might very properly be recorded in 
this book. 



II i6i 



CHAPTER XIII 
WALLENSTEIN 




WALLESST£1X 



CHAPTER XIII 

ASSASSINATION OF WALLENSTEIN 
(February 24, 1634) 

IN a previous chapter we have seen how a King of 
England got rid of a contentious Archbishop of the 
Church of Rome by assassination when the latter stood 
in the way of his usurpation. In a similar manner, also 
by assassination, an Emperor of Germany freed himself 
from a general who had twice saved him from ruin, but 
who had grown too powerful for his security, and whose 
loyalty he (perhaps justly) mistrusted. Although nearly 
three hundred years have passed away since Wallen- 
stein's assassination at Eger, Bohemia, the most searching 
investigations of historians have been unable to estab- 
lish beyond a reasonable doubt the certainty or extent 
of his treasonable intentions, although there are strong 
indications that they existed, and that the crown of 
Bohemia, as a sovereign state, was to be the price which 
he exacted for his treason. 

The religious war, which had broken out between the 
Emperor of Germany, as representative of the Catholic 
Church, and the Protestant princes of North Germany 
in 1618, had been waged with great cruelty and varying 
success for several years. Neither party had won such 
decisive advantages that the end of the terrible struggle, 

165 



FAMOUS ASSASSINATIONS 

which partook as much of the character of a civil war 
as of a rehgious war, could be predicted with any de- 
gree of certainty. The most unfortunate feature of this 
strife was that not only the different German princes 
were fighting against each other, but that also foreign 
princes, upon the invitation of the Germans, participated 
in the struggle and gave their support to either the 
Catholic or the Protestant side. The German princes 
themselves had formed two different alliances : the 
Catholics had formed the League, while the Protestants 
were members of the Protestant Union ; and both par- 
ties had powerful armies in the field commanded by 
experienced and able generals, the Catholics by Tilly, 
the Protestants by Mansfeld and the Duke of Brunswick. 
The greatest of these generals was perhaps Tilly, but he 
was extremely cruel and vindictive, fully as much from 
religious hatred for the enemies of his church as from 
natural disposition. His conquest and pillage of Magde- 
burg has given to his name a deplorable immortality. 
The Emperor of Germany, Ferdinand the Second, was 
rather nominally than actually the war-lord of the Cath- 
olic party ; for the Catholic League, which had placed 
the army in the field, had elected Maximilian of Bavaria 
as its supreme chief. Thus, while the Catholic armies 
were called the Imperialists, and while the victories 
which they achieved were supposed to redound to the 
Emperor's glory, Ferdinand could not repress a feeling 
of humiliation at the thought that he owed these victories 
and the advantages which resulted from them more to 
the generosity and loyalty of the Catholic League than 
to his own power and resources. Once or twice Protes- 
tant soldiers had even threatened him in his own imperial 

i66 



' WALLENSTEIN 

palace, and he had owed his safety from capture or death 
only to the timely intervention of some Spanish and 
Croatian horsemen who dispersed the aggressors. 

In November, 1620, Tilly had, at the head of a power- 
ful army, won a decisive victory over the army of the 
Protestant Union by the battle of White Mountain ; then, 
having restored Bohemia and Moravia to the rule of the 
Emperor, the victorious general quickly marched to the 
Palatinate, where the cause of the Protestants was at 
that time supreme. But he was defeated there by the 
Protestant army under Mansfeld and the Margrave of 
Baden ; and at that time Protestantism might have been 
triumphantly established in western and northern Ger- 
many at least, had not the two victorious Protestant 
generals made the mistake of separating their armies, — 
a mistake which proved fatal to both of them. Tilly 
was not slow to see the advantage which he gained by 
this dismemberment of the army which had so signally 
defeated him at Wiesloch ; he rallied his forces and de- 
feated first the Margrave of Baden at Wimpfen, and 
shortly afterwards Mansfeld and the Duke of Bruns- 
wick at Hochst. Then the Protestant armies crossed the 
frontier of the Netherlands in the hope of receiving 
assistance from England. 

In the meantime the German Emperor, emboldened 
by the successes of Tilly, strained every nerve to rees- 
tablish Catholicism and stamp out Protestantism in the 
Empire. The excessive zeal which he displayed in ac- 
complishing this purpose, and the terrible work of de- 
struction which Tilly and his lieutenants were carrying 
on in all those districts of the Empire which were unfor- 
tunate enough to fall under their sway, were, however, 

167 



FAMOUS ASSASSINATIONS 

the means of setting- Protestantism on its feet again, of 
reviving the waning hopes of the German Protestant 
princes, and of arousing a powerful interest in their 
behalf among their neighbors. The most important ac- 
cession which the cause of Protestantism had at that time 
was that of King Christian the Fourth of Denmark, who 
joined the Protestants with a large army and took su- 
preme command in northern Germany. 

Such were the conditions in Germany at the moment 
when the man who is the subject of this chapter appeared 
on the stage as principal actor in the terrible war of 
thirty years. This man, one of the most remarkable 
men of the seventeenth century, and one of the most 
eminent generals in German history was Wallenstein. 
For seven years he was the greatest man of the war, 
eclipsing the fame of Tilly himself, filling the minds of 
enemies and friends, and finally that of the Emperor 
himself, with vague fears and apprehensions of his 
treason and unbridled ambition. But in the flower of 
his age his life was cut short by the hands of assassins. 

The Empire seemed to be hopelessly divided between 
Catholicism and Protestantism, and civil war with all 
its terrors and horrors laid waste its fairest provinces. 
The Emperor had lost much of his authority, while 
Maximilian of Bavaria, commander-in-chief of the armies 
of the Catholic League, wielded a power which was 
supreme wherever the so-called Imperialists held posses- 
sion of country or town. It was a humiliating position 
for the Emperor, but he was utterly powerless to extri- 
cate himself from it. Suddenly a deliverer came to him 
in the person of Albert, Lord Wallenstein, a Bohemian 
nobleman, who had married the daughter of Count Har- 

i68 



WALLENSTEIN 

rach, the Emperor's special favorite. He was immensely 
rich, and had won great military distinction in the Bohe- 
mian wars. It was this Lord Wallenstein who on a 
morning in June, 1625, presented himself before the 
Emperor Ferdinand of Germany with a proposition 
which, at first, appeared so extravagant and incredible 
to the Emperor himself and to his counsellors that they 
doubted the sanity or sincerity of the man who made it. 
But he insisted on the feasibility of his plan with so 
much eloquence and enthusiasm that they finally con- 
sented to it. Wallenstein proposed to the Emperor to 
enroll, entirely at his own personal expense, an army to 
fight for the cause of the Emperor and to protect his 
hereditary states, provided he should have the power 
to make that army at least fifty thousand strong, to 
appoint all the officers, and take supreme command him- 
self, without being interfered with by other generals, no 
matter how highly stationed they might be. The im- 
mense wealth of Wallenstein guaranteed the financial 
success of the plan ; moreover he received permission to 
make his army self-sustaining by pillage, marauding, 
and forced contributions in all those districts which it 
might temporarily occupy. 

When the new plan and the appointment of Wallen- 
stein to the command of a large army — larger than 
any other in the field — became known, the world, and 
especially Germany, was struck with amazement, and 
there were but few who believed that it could be carried 
out. But those who doubted did not know the tremen- 
dous energy, the boundless resources, and the towering 
ambition of the man. The plan was carried out to its 
fullest extent : within a few months a large and well- 

169 



FAMOUS ASSASSINATIONS 

equipped army was ready to take the field, and Wallen- 
stein, whose name was comparatively unknown in the 
history of war, suddenly assumed an importance which 
eclipsed that of the renowned generals of the Catholic 
League and of the Protestant Union. The suddenness 
of his elevation, the apparent mystery surrounding him, 
and the rumors of the royal rewards in store for him, 
made the imperialistic generals very jealous. It may be 
truthfully said that from the very moment VVallenstein 
took command of his army, he had not only to face the 
Protestant armies in the field, but also to guard against 
his Catholic rivals, who used their high connections at the 
imperial court to undermine his position and blacken his 
character in a most unscrupulous manner. The achieve- 
ments of Wallenstein fully realized the high expectations 
of the Emperor. He displayed consummate generalship 
in the field, and had a magnetic power of attraction which 
caused his whole army, both oflficers and men, to idolize 
him. At the same time his army increased rapidly and 
wonderfully. It soon reached the one hundred thousand 
mark and still they were coming, while the armies of the 
League were decreasing at a fearful rate from camp 
diseases and the ravages of war. The Emperor made 
him Duke of Friedland, and " the Friedlanders " be- 
came soon a terror to friend and foe. In his march of 
victory, which extended from Hungary and Transylvania 
to the Baltic Sea, he swept the Protestant armies from 
the face of the earth. Where the Friedlanders had 
passed, no human dwelling, no human being remained 
to tell of the cruelty and devastation which had struck 
the country, and which fell with the same crushing 
weight on Catholics and Protestants. The army was to 

170 



WALLENSTEIN 

be self-sustaining and was therefore given full liberty 
of pillage and marauding wherever it went. Coming to 
the extreme north of Germany, he invaded Mecklen- 
burg, whose dukes had furnished men and money to 
the King of Denmark in his campaign against the im- 
perialists. The King of Denmark had after a decisive 
defeat left Germany and returned to his own kingdom, 
and on Wallenstein's approach the Duke of Mecklenburg 
also hastily decamped and left his country to the mercy 
of the conqueror. Wallenstein took possession of it and 
was rewarded with the title of Duke of Mecklenburg and 
the rank of a sovereign prince of the Empire. The royal 
crown of Bohemia, which rumor and secret whisperings 
designated as the reward in store for him after the con- 
clusion of peace, was now not so far off as on the day 
he took the command of his army. But the higher he 
rose, the greater became the envy and hatred of his 
rivals, especially of the sovereign princes whose coun- 
tries and cities had suffered from the passing of his 
army. 

From Mecklenburg Wallenstein turned to Pomerania, 
where Stralsund, one of the greatest fortresses of the 
Empire, impeded his further progress. Wallenstein in- 
vested it with his army, and made several assaults, which 
were successfully repulsed. The brave inhabitants had 
sworn to hold out to the last and rather perish in the 
defence of their hearths and homes and families than 
surrender their city to a conqueror who showed no mercy 
to the vanquished. Wallenstein, on the other hand, was 
determined to enter the city as a conqueror. Hearing 
that the inhabitants would defend the city unto death, 
he swore that he would take it, even if it were bound 

171 



FAMOUS ASSASSINATIONS 

with chains to Heaven, and he laid a regular siege to it. 
But all his efforts were in vain. The Swedes succeeded 
in giving succor to the beleaguered city from the seaward 
side, reinforcing it with troops, ammunition, and pro- 
visions. Finally, after a delay of two months and a loss 
of twelve thousand men, Wallenstein abandoned the pro- 
ject of taking the city, raised the siege, and returned to 
jMecklenburg. There the conquest of the strongly forti- 
fied city of Rostock consoled him to a certain extent for 
his failure at Stralsund. 

Emboldened by the great successes of Wallenstein and 
the almost complete overthrow of the Protestant armies, 
the Emperor rather rashly undertook to reinstate the 
Catholic Church in all its former privileges and to com- 
pel the Protestant states to restore all the property and 
real estate which had been confiscated and estranged 
from that church during the preceding eighty years. 
To carry out this imperial plan the so-called Restitution 
Edict was promulgated, — a very unwise measure, which 
spread consternation and alarm throughout the Empire, 
and fanned the dying embers of the religious war into 
a new flame. Not only Protestants, but many Catholics 
protested against the edict, and Wallenstein himself 
criticised it sharply. But the Emperor would not recede 
from the resolution he had taken. 

Wallenstein's influence was already rapidly declining; 
his overthrow was near at hand. In 1630 the imperial 
diet of Regensburg was held. All the sovereign princes 
of Germany, and especially all the Electors of the Empire 
were present, and they made jointly a terrible onslaught 
on Wallenstein, whom they all hated or envied. They 
united their complaints against him and demanded his 

172 



WALLENSTEIN 

immediate and peremptory dismissal from the service, 
as a punishment for the outrages committed by his army 
and for the extortions and exorbitant levies which he 
had made from friend and foe for his own self-aggran- 
dizement. For a long time the Emperor resisted these 
demands and stood up for the great general to whom 
he owed so much ; but he was anxious to secure the 
votes of the Electors for his son, the King of Hungary, 
as heir to the imperial crown, and the dismissal of 
Wallenstein was to be the price for these votes. He 
therefore issued the decree, deposing Wallenstein from 
his office of generalissimo of the army. It is said that 
he trembled in affixing his signature to the document, 
and that for weeks afterwards he lived in extreme fear 
of the wrath of the powerful chieftain. But Wallen- 
stein took his disgrace very coolly. The news came to 
him at a moment when he was with Seni, a famous as- 
trologer, in whom he placed implicit confidence. Seni 
had just predicted to him, from a configuration of the 
stars, that he would experience a tremendous disappoint- 
ment, but that this disappointment would be followed 
soon by his complete reinstatement in all the honors 
which he might be deprived of. Wallenstein took the 
decree of deposition as the confirmation of Seni's pre- 
diction. Without showing much irritation, and only with 
an expression of regret that the Emperor had been ill- 
advised and had yielded to bad counsels, he left the 
army and withdrew to Prague, the capital of Bohemia, 
to live there in royal splendor and luxury. 

When Wallenstein's soldiers were informed of the dis- 
missal of their chief, whom they idolized and regarded 
with an affection mingled with awe and terror, there 

173 



FAMOUS ASSASSINATIONS 

was danger of an open revolt against the Emperor's 
decree ; but Wallenstein himself and some of his gen- 
erals quieted their rage and suppressed all manifestations 
of rebellion. Thousands of soldiers and a great number 
of officers refused to remain in the Emperor's service, 
declaring that they had enlisted only in order to serve 
under Wallenstein and under no other commander. 
More than one half of the entire army left the service, 
and most of the officers, at their own request, accom- 
panied the deposed general to his new place of residence, 
Prague. The disgrace of the general, or rather the act 
of removal which, in the eyes of the German princes, 
was intended to disgrace him, turned out to be a tri- 
umph, greater than a victory in the field, and made 
his position in Germany even more conspicuous. More- 
over, everybody seemed to feel that the hour of his rein- 
statement would soon come. And Wallenstein, on his 
part, neglected nothing to confirm this opinion, which 
flattered his vanity, and which he firmly believed would 
be realized, because " it was written in the stars." 

It was perhaps as a challenge to his princely enemies at 
the imperial court and in defiance of the Emperor himself 
that he established his household on a footing more be- 
coming a reigning monarch than a private citizen. He 
had a secret desire to accustom the people of Bohemia to 
look upon him as the man who might, within a short 
time, be called upon to rule over them as king. Other- 
wise it is hardly reasonable to suppose that he would 
have paraded such wealth and magnificence as could not 
but confirm the charges preferred against him by his 
influential enemies, — namely, gigantic extortions and 
robberies of public and private moneys, and plans to 

174 



WALLENSTEIN 

satisfy an insatiable ambition. His palace had six public 
entrances, and he caused a hundred houses to be torn 
down to enlarge the vacant place surrounding it. By 
day and by night it was guarded by sentinels, and during 
the night the public streets leading to it were barred 
with chains, that the rest of the Duke might not be dis- 
turbed. In the hall leading to the antechamber of his 
private apartments fifty halberdiers were constantly on 
guard, while sixty pages, all from the best families of 
Germany, four chamberlains, six barons, and a master of 
ceremonies belonging to one of the most illustrious houses 
of the Empire, were always ready to receive the orders 
of the great man. Whenever he travelled, his own car- 
riage was drawn by eight full-blooded horses ; his at- 
tendants followed in fifty carriages, each drawn by six 
horses, while as many baggage wagons, each drawn by 
four horses, transported the baggage for the ducal pro- 
cession, and sixty richly mounted cavaliers formed the 
regular escort of " His Highness." 

As if Providence wished to advance the pretensions of 
Wallenstein, the Emperor's affairs took a turn for the 
worse soon after his removal from the command of the 
army. Incensed at the intolerance of the German Em- 
peror and his Restitution Edict, which was to be enforced 
in its full severity, Gustavus Adolphus, the gi;eat and 
high-minded King of Sweden, came to the assistance of 
the Protestant princes of northern Germany. He came 
not unsupported ; behind him, and as his secret ally, 
stood the King of France, or rather Richelieu. This 
great French statesman, although a cardinal of the Cath- 
olic Church, saw the time had come to curtail the power 
of Austria, and therefore utilized the military genius of 

175 



FAMOUS ASSASSINATIONS 

Giistavus Adolphus to effectually cripple the Emperor's 
power, and to raise France to a predominant position in 
Europe. Richelieu equipped and subsidized the Swedish 
armies and, by doing so, enabled the Swedish King, 
whose country was comparatively poor and whose re- 
sources were consequently limited, to take the field in 
Germany with a strong force. 

On the twenty-fourth of June, 1630, Gustavus Adolphus 
landed his army in Pomerania. That date marks the 
turning-point in the fortunes of the Thirty Years' War. 
The Swedish King's piety, and the strict discipline which 
he maintained in his army, stood in such glaring contrast 
to the excesses and outrages committed by the armies of 
Tilly and Wallenstein that the King was welcomed by 
the sovereigns of northern Germany as a savior and 
liberator. It is not our purpose to describe the glorious 
and victorious career of Gustavus Adolphus in the Em- 
pire. Suffice it to say that the conditions of victory and 
defeat, of triumph and despondency, were entirely re- 
versed, that the imperial armies were unable to stem the 
tide of victory which had set in for the Protestant cause 
since the Swedish King's appearance on German soil, 
that his progress southward was rapid and incessant, that 
the Catholic princes were either vanquished or fugi- 
tives from their states, and that the Emperor himself 
was trembling in his palace at Vienna, as report after 
report informed him of the uninterrupted onward march 
of the royal hero. Who can help ? Who can oppose and 
prevent this steady march of conquest? To the terrified 
mind of the Emperor only one man presents himself. 
It is Wallenstein. But Wallenstein has been mortally 
offended by him. How can the Emperor humiliate him- 

176 



WALLENSTEIN 

self before a subject and assuage his wrath ? The danger 
is increasing. 

Gustavus is still on the Rhine, but he prepares an in- 
vasion of Wiirtemberg, many of whose inhabitants will 
gladly welcome him. The advance of his army, under 
General Horn, is in Franconia and driving the Imperial- 
ists before him. No time is to be lost. The Emperor 
sends a friendly message to Wallenstein ; but the mes- 
sage is haughtily rejected, and the messengers are treated 
with arrogance, not to say contempt. He sends back word 
to the Emperor that he does not care to repair the faults 
of others ; that he is not on friendly terms with the allies 
of the Emperor ; that he is tired and sick of war ; that 
he is in need of rest, etc. The Emperor sends new mes- 
sengers, holds out new rewards. He insists and appeals. 
At last, in December, 163 1, Wallenstein promises to raise 
a new army, equip it and place it in the field by the first 
of March, 1632; but he positively refuses to command 
it. The magic power of his name renews the prodigy of 
six years before. On the first of March the hereditary 
states of Austria — Bohemia, Silesia, and Moravia — had 
furnished him a splendid army of forty thousand men. 
But it was a body without a soul ; it lacked a leader able 
to command it and lead it to victory. The most urgent 
demands, prayers, supplications of the Emperor at last 
decide Wallenstein to take the command of this army, 
which is crazed with enthusiasm when he finally accepts. 
But he accepts only on conditions most humiliating to 
the Emperor. He will be generalissimo of the armies 
of Austria and Spain ; he will appoint all his subordinate 
officers ; the Emperor will not be permitted to join the 
army, and will in no way interfere with its direction or 
12 177 



FAMOUS ASSASSINATIONS 

movements ; Wallenstein will receive one of the heredi- 
tary states of Austria as a reward ; he will be war- 
governor of all the territory occupied by his army ; he 
will have the right to levy contributions, and all confis- 
cated property will belong to him ; he alone can grant 
amnesty ; he will remain Duke of Mecklenburg, even if 
another crown be given to him ; all his expenditures will 
be paid back to him at the conclusion of peace ; and in 
case of defeat, he will have the right to retire upon 
Vienna, and remain there. These conditions, readily 
granted by the Emperor, made Wallenstein practically 
the Dictator of the Empire. 

It was at Nuremberg, one of the most ancient and 
prosperous cities of Bavaria, that the two great captains 
met face to face for the first time. Gustavus Adolphus 
had many friends in the city, which he wanted to protect 
against the Imperialists and from which he had received 
many reinforcements and supplies. His army had taken 
quarters in the immediate neighborhood. When Wallen- 
stein approached, the King expected an immediate attack, 
but in this expectation he was disappointed. Whether 
he was afraid to endanger his party and his own repu- 
tation by the chances of a battle, or whether he thought 
that to check the victorious progress of the King was 
equivalent to a victory and would dishearten his allies, 
or whether the hope of starving the army of the King 
by cutting off his communications and supplies prompted 
his action, Wallenstein massed his army in front of 
Nuremberg, erected breastworks and strongly fortified 
them, and observed every movement of his great antag- 
onist. It v/as evident that he wished to avoid giving 
battle. In this way they remained for eleven weeks 

178 



WALLENSTEIN 

opposed to one another, neither daring to become the 
aggressor or to leave his fortified position. It was the 
King who moved first. Provisions both in his camp and 
in the city were getting very scarce, and a contagious 
camp disease had broken out among his troops and spread 
to the city, decimating the ranks of his army. He there- 
fore resolved to attack the position of Wallenstein and 
take it by storm. A terrible battle ensued. The Swedes 
and the Protestant army showed wonderful bravery, but 
the heavy artillery of Wallenstein mowed them down in 
long lines, and they were unable to stand the incessant 
volleys of shot and shell which poured into their ranks 
all day long. The assault was repulsed with terrible loss 
to the Swedish army, and Wallenstein had the glory of 
having inflicted the first defeat on Gustavus Adolphus. 
This defeat was the more painful to the King because 
he had lost from ten to twelve thousand of his best 
soldiers and some of his ablest commanders in the vain 
attempt to take Wallenstein's position. But the defeat 
had no other bad results for Gustavus Adolphus, for 
Wallenstein permitted him to retreat from Nuremberg 
without molesting, attacking or pursuing him, although 
his army was greatly superior in numbers to the King's 
army, and although his loss during the battle of the 
preceding day was much smaller ; in fact Wallenstein's 
loss in killed and wounded was estimated at no more 
than one thousand. 

This neglect of Wallenstein to annihilate the King's 
army, when everything seemed to favor such an at- 
tempt, is among the strongest evidences of his treacherous 
sentiments. It caused consternation at Vienna, and his 
enemies charged him openly with treason. But the Em- 

179 



FAMOUS ASSASSINATIONS 

peror had no right to interfere ! Finally Wallenstein also 
left his fortified camp, but instead of following Gustavus 
Adolphus to Thuringia, he went in an easterly direction 
and invaded Saxony, where he captured a detachment of 
two thousand five hundred Swedes and with them Count 
Thurn, a German nobleman, who for some reason or 
other had left the Emperor's service and had entered the 
Swedish King's. This Count Thurn was especially odious 
to the Emperor, and when the news of his capture reached 
Vienna, there was general rejoicing. The Count would 
unquestionably have been executed, but to the utter dis- 
may of the court Wallenstein set him free and permitted 
him to return to the King, — as his enemies asserted, 
with secret overtures from the Imperialist commander. 
It is possible, although by no means certain, that Wallen- 
stein, remembering how ungratefully he had been treated 
before, and thinking that the same ingratitude might be 
shown to him again as soon as his services were no 
longer needed, may have tried to open negotiations with 
the Swedish King to secure from him personal recog- 
nition and advantages which he was afraid would be 
withheld from him after the King's final overthrow. His 
fears were certainly not unreasonable, for the Emperor 
was surrounded by, and lent a willing ear to, the bitter 
enemies of Wallenstein, and to the very men who had 
brought abopt his first disgrace and dismissal. The 
King, on the other hand, if he received such overtures 
from Wallenstein, either distrusted him or did not see 
fit to act upon them favorably, possibly because Wallen- 
stein's terms were too extravagant. 

As soon as Gustavus Adolphus had learned of Wallen- 
stein's invasion of Saxony he turned round, and in forced 

i8o 



WALLENSTEIN 

marches hurried also to Saxony in order to protect that 
unfortunate country from the ravages of the Friedlanders. 
The Elector of Saxony, while secretly favoring the Ger- 
man Emperor, had appealed to the King of Sweden for 
protection, and Gustavus Adolphus had granted his re- 
quest. He marched so rapidly that Wallenstein, when 
informed of his approach, at first refused to believe the 
truth of the report, but nevertheless prepared to give him 
a warm reception. Having sent, a few days before, his 
most renowned cavalry general, Pappenheim, in another 
direction, he now sent messengers after him to recall 
him. The two great captains met at Liitzen on the sixth 
of November, A terrible battle ensued, in which Gus- 
tavus Adolphus was killed. But Wallenstein was de- 
feated ; at least he left the battle-field in the possession 
of the enemy and retreated to Bohemia. 

This retrograde movement and his retreat from the 
battle-field were unfavorably commented on at Vienna 
and declared unnecessary. Insinuations of treason were 
again whispered into the Emperor's ear, and his suspi- 
cion was aroused to such a degree that Wallenstein's re- 
moval from the army was resolved upon, although this 
intention was kept secret for a while. The Emperor 
surrounded himself with Spanish soldiers to be safe from 
an attack of the Friedlanders. He also succeeded by 
bribes and promises in estranging a number of Wallen- 
stein's prominent lieutenants from him and in securing 
them for his own service. To some extent Wallenstein 
was kept informed of these secret steps of the Emperor, 
and he tried to counteract them and to protect himself. 
He renewed his negotiations with the Swedes and the 
Protestant princes, who had found in Bernard, Duke of 

i8i 



FAMOUS ASSASSINATIONS 

Saxe-Weimar, a worthy successor of King Gustavus 
Adolphus as a military leader ; and it is said that an 
agreement had been made by the two leaders of the 
opposing armies that Wallenstein's forces should join 
the Protestant army, and that they jointly should impose 
conditions of peace upon the Emperor. It goes without 
saying that a sovereignty for Wallenstein — most likely 
that of Bohemia — was included in the terms of peace. 
Before this agreement could be carried out, events 
occurred which not only precipitated the downfall, but 
cut short the life of the over-ambitious military chief- 
tain. It was of the greatest importance to Wallenstein 
to find out how far he would be able to rely on his army 
commanders and on their regiments in carrying out his 
treasonable projects. He first revealed these to three of 
them, — Terzky, Kinsky, and Illo, — the first two related 
to him by marriage, and the last an avowed and bitter 
enemy of the Emperor, who had refused to raise him to 
the rank of count. It was Illo who undertook to find out 
how the generals and colonels would feel and act ; he 
called them together one evening and very cautiously 
proceeded to inflame their minds against the Emperor 
and glorify the services of Wallenstein, who, he said, 
was the only one who could have saved the Emperor 
from ruin, and who was now to be sacrificed again to 
the envy and jealousy of his enemies. This announce- 
ment caused loud protests and great indignation among 
those present. " But," concluded Illo, " the Duke is not 
willing to undergo this new humiliation, which is a 
shameful reward for his long and glorious services ; no, 
he will not wait until it pleases the Emperor to kick him 
out, but he will go voluntarily and resign his command; 

182 



WALLENSTEIN 

but what pains him deeply is the thought that, in doing 
so, he must leave his devoted friends and comrades, and 
cannot reward them as he intended." It may well be 
thought that these remarks kindled revolt in the hearts 
of the soldiers, and that they swore they would not let 
the Duke leave the army. The next morning they sent 
a delegation to their commander-in-chief, imploring him 
to desist from his intention of leaving the army, and as- 
suring him that they would stand by him, no matter what 
might happen. It was only when a second delegation of 
the highest and most popular officers waited upon him, 
that the Duke gave way to their entreaties and promised 
to remain at the head of the army. But he attached one 
condition to this promise : he exacted from all the com- 
manders a written pledge that they would all, jointly and 
singly, stand by him as their chief, and would consider 
his removal from the command of the army a public 
calamity. They all agreed to this condition, and a paper 
embodying this declaration was gotten up to be signed 
by all of them. 

Illo took it upon himself to secure all the signatures, 
and in order to make short work of it, invited the com- 
manders to an evening party at his headquarters, where 
he read the paper to them ; but, in order to preclude all 
suspicion in the minds of the signers, Wallenstein had 
inserted a clause which bound the signers to the agree- 
ment only as long as Wallenstein used the army in the 
service of the Emperor. After Illo had read the paper 
containing the saving clause, he dexterously withdrew it 
and substituted for it another copy without the clause, 
and unknowingly the commanders signed it. Moreover, 
most of them were half or entirely intoxicated and could 

183 



FAMOUS ASSASSINATIONS 

not have discovered the deception ; but one or two had 
remained sober, and when they read the paper again be- 
fore signing it, they found that it was different from the 
one which had been read to them. They indignantly 
charged Illo with having practised a fraud on them, and 
the company broke up in confusion and anger. This 
half-failure seems to have opened Wallenstein's eyes to 
the real situation in which he found himself. Many of 
his commanders were too devoted Catholics to make com- 
mon cause with the enemies of their Church, and while 
they were willing to stand by Wallenstein to the last as 
the defender of their faith, they refused to follow him 
into the Protestant camp and as a deserter from the 
Emperor's service. It also opened the Emperor's eyes 
to the necessity of prompt action, unless he would permit 
Wallenstein to concoct some plan by which he might 
lead the whole army into the camp of the Protestants. 
He therefore secretly commissioned General Gallas, one 
of Wallenstein's subordinates, to take command of the 
army as soon as the time had come for openly depos- 
ing the Duke of Friedland. It was a game of dupli- 
city and deception on both sides. The Emperor tried to 
cheat Wallenstein out of his command and reward, and 
Wallenstein tried to cheat the Emperor out of the army. 

Until then Wallenstein had been at Pilsen ; but after 
the demonstration of the commanders, he deemed it ad- 
visable for his own plans and interests to transfer his 
headquarters to the strongly fortified city of Eger, which 
was commanded by Gordon, whom he considered one of 
his most reliable friends. The larger part of the army 
remained at Pilsen, while Wallenstein himself, escorted 
by a number of picked regiments under the command of 

184 



WALLENSTEIN 

his most trusted lieutenants, went to Eger. But there he 
was to meet his doom. The thunderclouds of imperial 
wrath had been gathering more and more threateningly 
above his head. Wallenstein saw them not and feared 
them not. Had not the stars prophesied his coming 
elevation ? Even when the Emperor published a proc- 
lamation, which was secretly distributed in the army, 
declaring him a rebel and offering a reward for his 
surrender, dead or alive, he would not believe it ; he 
laughed at it when it was shown him. Under ordinary 
circumstances he would have had the courage to treat 
any imperial edict with contempt, for with his army his 
name was a much greater power and authority than 
that of the Emperor ; but a compHcation had arisen 
which in the minds of his soldiers paralyzed his efforts 
and reestablished the Emperor's supremacy. This com- 
plication was the increasing strength of the Protestant 
armies. The Duke's army, lawless, cruel, and violating 
every rule of morality, was nevertheless composed of 
men who stood in slavish fear of the Church and of the 
priest, and as soon as Wallenstein turned against these 
two, the soldiers turned against him. They were willing 
to follow him to death in a Catholic cause, when death 
would open to them the gates of Paradise, but they re- 
fused to follow him to death when death would deliver 
them to the everlasting torments of hell. 

With this invisible moral power the great commander 
had not reckoned. Among the very men whom he had 
picked out as his escort to Eger were his murderers. 
And they did not wait long, for fear that others might 
anticipate them in their bloody work, and capture not 
only the imperial reward, but also the benedictions of the 

185 



FAMOUS ASSASSINATIONS 

Church. These men were Gordon, the commander of the 
Eger garrison, and LesHe (both Scotchmen), Deveroux 
and Butler (both Irishmen). They had always been en- 
thusiastic friends and admirers of Wallenstein, but they 
were also fanatical Catholics, and when they had to 
choose between their commander and the Church, their 
devotion to the latter prevailed. Deveroux was the lead- 
ing spirit in the plot. He had received private instruc- 
tions from Gallas and Piccolomini and won over the 
others. They also secured the assistance of a number of 
soldiers in their regiments, and solemnly pledged them- 
selves to surrender Wallenstein's person, dead or alive, 
to Gallas, who was to take command of the imperial 
army. But in order to prevent interference with their 
dark design, Gordon, the commander of the garrison, in- 
vited them all to the citadel for an evening entertain- 
ment. At this entertainment, while eating supper, Illo, 
Terzky, Kinsky and Newman, were murdered. It was 
on a Saturday evening, February 25, 1634, the day after 
they had arrived with Wallenstein at Eger. Wallenstein 
himself was not present. He had retired early that night, 
after having once more consulted the stars with his Italian 
astrologer, who discovered unfavorable signs in the con- 
stellations. But it seems Wallenstein paid no attention 
to these warnings, and fell soundly asleep soon after- 
wards. Toward midnight, or perhaps shortly after mid- 
night, he was aroused from his sleep by a loud noise. 
Coming from the citadel, where Wallenstein's lieuten- 
ants had been slain, Butler, with a number of his dra- 
goons, and Deveroux, with a number of his halberdiers, 
marched up to Wallenstein's residence. Since both Butler 
and Deveroux were well known to the guards in the hall, 

186 



WALLENSTEIN 

they were immediately admitted, but when they reached 
the anteroom to the Duke's apartments, the sentinel 
wanted to stop them. He was cut down, not, however, 
before he had called for help, and cried out : " Murderers ! 
Rebels ! " It was this tumult that aroused Wallenstein. 
He jumped out of bed and hurried to the window to 
ask the sentinel posted at the entrance what was the 
matter. At that moment the door leading to the ante- 
room was burst open, and Deveroux, a halberd in his 
hands, and followed by half a dozen of his men, entered 
the bedroom, where he found himself face to face with 
Wallenstein. " Are you the scoundrel," said he, " who 
wants to rob his Imperial Majesty of his crown? You 
must die now ! " And without having given any answer, 
Wallenstein received a stab of the halberd which lacer- 
ated the intestines and caused almost immediate death. 
Like Casar, he might have exclaimed, " Et tu. Brute ! " 
for he had always especially befriended and distinguished 
this man Deveroux, who had come to him poor and 
friendless, and who owed to him everything. One of the 
halberdiers wished to throw Wallenstein's corpse out of 
the window, but Deveroux would not permit it ; he rolled 
the body up in a table cover and had it transported to the 
citadel, where the Duke's murdered friends were lying in 
the yard, waiting for their burial. Wallenstein's body 
was placed by their side. It was then resolved to send 
the bodies of the dead generals to one of Illo's country- 
seats, which was in the neighborhood. In placing them 
in their coffins, it was found that Wallenstein's coffin was 
too small, and in order to force him into it his legs had to 
be broken. 

Thus died one of the most remarkable men of the 

187 



FAMOUS ASSASSINATIONS 

seventeenth century, — the greatest of the German gen- 
erals of the terrible Thirty Years' War. As a strate- 
gist, he may not have been fully the equal of Gustavus 
Adolphus, but he had a magnetic power over his men 
which even that great commander did not possess, and 
which would have made him invincible, had not super- 
stition and religious awe counteracted it. The German 
Emperor, hearing of his assassination, appeared to be 
overwhelmed with grief, and ordered three thousand 
masses to be read for the salvation of his soul ; but he 
tried in vain to deceive the world by this hypocritical 
sorrow for a murder which he had planned and for 
which he rewarded the assassins. To this very day the 
treason of Wallenstein remains shrouded in doubt ; and 
very likely it will remain forever an unsolved problem. 



i88 



CHAPTER XIV 
JOHN AND CORNELIUS DE WITT 




JOHN 



DE WITT 



CHAPTER XIV 

ASSASSINATION OF THE BROTHERS JOHN AND 
CORNELIUS DE WITT 

(August 20, 1672) 

NEVER, perhaps, was the old saying, " Republics 
are ungrateful," more strikingly verified than in 
the case of the two brothers De Witt, who, after having 
rendered many great services to the Dutch Republic, were 
foully murdered by an infuriated mob in the streets of the 
Hague, August 20, 1672. John and Cornelius de Witt 
were the sons of a distinguished citizen of the city of 
Dordrecht, who had represented that city in the general 
assemblies of Holland and Friesland and v/as known as 
an eloquent and incorruptible defender of popular rights. 
He had placed himself at the head of the anti-Orange 
party because he considered the ambition and power of 
the princes of Orange a standing danger to the Republic. 
Grown up under the direction of such a father, the two 
sons had naturally imbibed his strong democratic princi- 
ples, and their undoubted patriotism was strongly tinged 
with hostility to the house of Orange. The two De Witts 
have often been compared to the Gracchi, and, like those 
illustrious Romans, they worked and died for their dem- 
ocratic principles. Both were highly talented and, while 

191 



FAMOUS ASSASSINATIONS 

quite young, rose to the highest honors and dignities 
among their countrymen, — CorneHus, the elder of the 
two, by his eminent legal ability and his skill as a mili- 
tary and naval director and commissary, and John, by 
his eminence as an administrator and statesman. It is 
difficult to decide which of the two was intellectually the 
superior. A medal struck in their honor bore the in- 
scription, " Hie armis maximus, ille toga." It should not 
be inferred, however, from this inscription, that Cornelius, 
to whom the word " armis " applied, was at any time 
commander-in-chief of the Dutch army and navy, since 
he held only the office of government inspector of the 
navy, in which capacity he greatly distinguished himself. 
John was, at the age of twenty-five, elected pensionary 
of the city of Dordrecht, and two years later, in 1652, 
Grand Pensionary of Holland, one of the highest offices 
in the United Provinces. His political influence w^as very 
great, and he used it to the best of his ability against the 
house of Orange. William the Second, Prince of Orange, 
had died on the second of October, 1650, leaving only a 
widow and a posthumous son as his heirs. On these 
circumstances, so unfavorable to the illustrious house 
which had played for so many years a conspicuous part 
in the history of the Netherlands, John de Witt bujlt his 
hopes of dealing a deathblow to its political pretensions 
and of abolishing forever the office of stadtholder. It 
was, however, no easy task to accomplish this object. 
The province of Zealand was full of friends and parti- 
sans of the late stadtholder, who vigorously opposed any 
attempt in the direction contemplated by De Witt; and 
the other provinces, either from loyalty to the house of 
Orange, or from a secret jealousy of the supremacy of 

192 



JOHN AND CORNELIUS DE WITT 

the states of Holland, which always wanted to control the 
policy of the Republic, either openly rejected the plans of 
De Witt or modified and attenuated them as exaggerated. 
At the moment when John de Witt took the reins of 
government, the states were at war with England, and 
the war had taken a very unfavorable turn for them. 
The Dutch admirals had suffered several terrible de- 
feats. Tromp, one of their most celebrated naval heroes, 
had been killed in battle, and an English fleet was cruis- 
ing along the coast of Holland, blockading its ports, and 
paralyzing its commerce. But De Witt repaired these 
disasters with such rapidity, and restored to the Dutch 
navy such a formidable strength by his administrative 
genius, that Cromwell was willing to enter into negotia- 
tions for peace, which he had haughtily rejected before. 
A treaty of peace, submitted by the Grand Pensionary of 
Holland and signed at ^^^estminster on the fifteenth of 
April, 1654, reestablished virtually the conditions which 
had existed between the two nations before the war. 
However, the Dutch Republic was compelled to recog- 
nize the superiority of the English flag in the channel, 
and bound itself to give the Stuart dynasty no support, 
and that no Prince of Orange should be elected again 
either Stadtholder or Captain-General. This last section 
of the treaty was signed, at first by the province of Hol- 
land only, and was kept secret for a long time. In getting 
this provision of exclusion of the house of Orange passed 
(which, by the way, was as welcome to De Witt as to 
Cromwell) by the other provinces also, the Grand Pen- 
sionary practised a good deal of duplicity, and laid him- 
self open to serious charges of official deception which 
later on contributed to his downfall. 
13 193 



FAMOUS ASSASSINATIONS 

In the meantime another compHcation had arisen and 
taxed the statesmanship of the Dutch government and 
the patriotism of the Netherlanders to the utmost. In 
France Louis the Fourteenth had taken the reins of gov- 
ernment into his own hands, and manifested an ambition 
for conquest which endangered the security of all his 
neighbors. Although the wife of Louis, at the time of 
her marriage, had solemnly renounced all her rights of 
succession to the Spanish throne and any Spanish prov- 
inces, the King nevertheless after the death of his wife's 
father, Philip the Fourth, claimed the Spanish Nether- 
lands as justly belonging to his wife, and defended this 
claim not so much by argument as by an invasion and 
armed occupation of the disputed territory. No state 
was more deeply interested in the outcome of this dis- 
pute than the Netherlands. With growing fear they 
beheld the rapid progress which the armies of the French 
King under the command of great generals were making, 
and they thought that their own independence might 
suffer from the immediate neighborhood of so powerful 
and aggressive a monarch. With great skill the Dutch 
government secretly formed an alliance with Sweden and 
England by v/hich these three powers agreed that the 
Spanish Netherlands should remain under Spanish do- 
minion and that Louis the Fourteenth should be pre- 
vented from annexing them to the French monarchy. 
This Triple Alliance w^as too powerful to be defied 
by the French King, and he made peace with Spain, 
evacuating Franche-Comte, Avhich he had already con- 
quered, but retaining possession of a number of impor- 
tant cities in the Netherlands, — such as Charleroi, Douai, 
Lille, Tournay and Oudenarde, which by the genius of 

194 



JOHN AND CORNELIUS DE WITT 

Vaiiban were converted into almost impregnable for- 
tresses. Dutch statesmanship was the obstacle which had 
placed itself in the King's way and frustrated his ambi- 
tious designs. Personal irritation and ofTended vanity 
were added to his chagrin at the failure of his plans. 

A boastful medal was struck in the Netherlands com- 
memorating the diplomatic victory which their government 
had achieved over the power of France. On this medal 
a Dutch statesman was represented as Joshua bidding the 
sun (the symbol of Louis the Fourteenth) to stand still. 
For this arrogance the Republic was to be punished, 
and with matchless skill and cunning the French gov- 
ernment went to work to prepare for its overthrow. The 
general political situation of Europe was highly favorable 
to the consummation of the French designs. The Em- 
peror of Germany, a weak and pusillanimous sovereign, 
had his hands full in the eastern provinces of the Empire, 
in which the Turks had advanced victorious up to the 
very gates of Vienna ; he was therefore powerless to 
oppose French aggression in the Netherlands. Moreover 
special negotiations had been opened with some of the sov- 
ereign princes of northern Germany by which the French 
monarch secured the right to march his armies through 
their territory on their way to the United Netherlands 
without touching Spanish territory. With equal success 
the French diplomats dissolved the Triple Alliance, and 
made both Sweden and England, former allies of the 
Dutch Republic, subservient to the French monarch. 
Sweden received an annual subsidy of 600,000 dollars 
from the French treasury, and England a subsidy of 
350,000 pounds sterling and also the promise of the prov- 
ince of Zealand as its share of the dismemberment of 

195 



FAMOUS ASSASSINATIONS 

the United Netherlands. Princess Henrietta of France, 
wife of the Duke of Orleans and sister of Charles the 
Second of England, was sent by the wily French King 
to England to negotiate this infamous treaty. She suc- 
ceeded in accomplishing her object mainly through the 
influence which one of the ladies of her suite, Mademoi- 
selle de Querouet, gained over the mind of the English 
King, who made her his mistress and bestowed on her 
the title of Duchess of Portsmouth. 

Having thus fortified himself on all sides and deprived 
the United Netherlands of the possibility of taking the 
field against him with any chance of success, Louis de- 
clared war upon them. The result could not be doubtful. 
Moreover the domestic discord and the active struggle 
between the political factions added much to the gravity 
of the situation, and partly paralyzed the eflforts of the 
government to arouse the provinces to a full compre- 
hension of the danger. John de Witt was the chief 
executive of the government, and upon him rested largely 
the responsibility of the situation. The Orangist party 
turned its main attacks against him, and spared neither 
criticism nor calumny to undermine his standing and 
authority. It charged him directly with having, either 
through incompetency or something worse, neglected to 
place the country in a suitable state of defence, and then 
having provoked a war with a powerful enemy. These 
charges against De Witt were largely unjust, and were 
preferred only to punish him for his opposition to re- 
instating the house of Orange in the stadtholdership and 
in the chief command of all the military forces of the 
Republic. 

John de Witt had made two radical errors in his esti- 

196 



JOHN AND CORNELIUS DE WITT 

mate of the political situation. He knew that Louis the 
Fourteenth felt irritated at the Dutch Republic's action 
in preventing his acquisition of the Spanish Netherlands ; 
but he did not know that the French King would resent 
that action, and make gigantic preparations for crushing 
the Dutch Republic. Never before had such tremendous 
efforts been made by a great nation to destroy a weak 
neighbor. The war was to be short and decisive, and 
the insolent " traders " — that was the name the haughty 
French King gave to the citizens of the Netherlands — 
were to be punished radically. The second error which 
De Witt committed was his underestimation of the venal- 
ity and corruption existing in the government circles of 
his former allies, England and Sweden. He learned at 
an early day that French diplomacy had induced them to 
recede from the Triple Alliance ; but he did not realize 
at the time that French gold and French promises had 
persuaded these two powers to make common cause with 
him for the dismemberment of the Republic, and to fur- 
nish troops for that purpose. When finally the full reality 
of the King's revengeful plan was revealed to him, he not 
only aroused the people of the Netherlands to a realiza- 
tion of the terrible danger which threatened them, but he 
also, with his usual energy, went to work to find assist- 
ance against the overwhelming odds among the other 
European powers, and his experienced statesmanship 
served him well in bringing into play all the different 
motives, both personal and political, by which he could 
hope to influence their decisions. 

Unfortunately the allies he could enlist in his cause 
were too weak to constitute an adequate counterpoise 
to the enormous power of his opponent. In stating the 

197 



FAMOUS ASSASSINATIONS 

general political situation of Europe preceding the attack 
of Louis the Fourteenth on the Dutch Republic, we have 
already mentioned the causes which prevented the other 
powers from active interference in behalf of the Nether- 
lands. The aggressive Turk, also influenced by French 
money, kept the Emperor of Germany busy in his eastern 
provinces, and left him little time to care for other things 
than his own protection. Moreover Louis the Fourteenth 
had, by munificent presents and liberal payments, won the 
secret support of the Emperor's prime minister, Lobko- 
witz, who did all in his power to overcome his master's 
fears concerning the intentions of the French King, and 
frustrated the efforts of the King's enemies to draw him 
over to their side. De Witt had to contend with these dif- 
ficulties in securing little more than the moral support of 
the Emperor ; but when the rapid progress of the French 
arms had revealed to him the danger which threatened 
the Empire, he consented reluctantly and hesitatingly to 
a sort of active intervention for the protection of the 
German territory. 

One ally of the Dutch Republic should not be forgotten 
here — Frederick William, the great Elector of Branden- 
burg, whose political genius enabled him to see the disas- 
trous consequences which the growing power of the King 
of France would have not only for the German Empire, 
but also for his own possessions on the Rhine. He, 
therefore, concluded an alliance with the Dutch Republic, 
promising an army of twenty thousand men in defence 
of German soil against the aggression of the French 
King, and used besides his influence over the German 
Emperor in persuading him to join the alliance. The 
Elector of Brandenburg was for one reason a particu- 

198 



JOHN AND CORNELIUS DE WITT 

larly valuable ally, because his army was needed to keep 
in check the Swedes, who were to take the field in north- 
ern Germany as soon as the German Emperor would 
show a disposition to cooperate with the Dutch Republic. 
The decisive victory of Fehrbellin, in which the great 
Elector routed a Swedish army much superior in num- 
bers to his own, showed how gloriously he performed his 
part of the programme. 

It was at this time that the Prince of Orange, although 
only twenty years old, appeared to the Dutch people as 
a savior from these threatened calamities. The young 
Prince, after the death of his mother, in 1661, passed 
under the guardianship of John de Witt, who had him 
instructed in political science and in the study of modern 
languages. It would seem that, with the foresight of 
genius, he foresaw the prominent part which Prince Wil- 
liam would sooner or later play in the history of the 
Republic, and that, in spite of his personal antipathy to 
the house of Orange, he was patriotic enough to educate 
him well for his coming career. The precarious condi- 
tion of his health, which seemed to disqualify the Prince 
for the hardships and exposures of military life, had no 
influence whatever on his ambition to equal the great 
achievements of his ancestors. An opportunity for reach- 
ing the goal of his ambition was given him when the 
States-General, in obedience to the urgent demand of the 
people, appointed him Captain-General of the Republic. 
Although the powers of the new commander-in-chief 
were limited by several provisions, yet the Republican 
party, under the leadership of De Witt, demanded more 
and better guarantees for curbing the ambition of the 
Prince. It demanded and obtained from the States- 

199 



FAMOUS ASSASSINATIONS 

General an order that the Captain-General should be 
obliged to swear to maintain the Perpetual Edict sup- 
pressing the stadtholdership and prohibiting its rees- 
tablishnient. John de Witt also strongly opposed the 
life-appointment of the Prince of Orange until he should 
have completed his twenty-second year, while the Orang- 
ists and the Prince himself made his life-appointment a 
condition for his acceptance. A compromise was finally 
reached, and Prince William of Orange, known in his- 
tory as William the Third, was solemnly inaugurated in 
his new office of commander-in-chief. On him was im- 
posed the difficult task to oppose the armies of Louis 
the Fourteenth, commanded by Conde, Turenne, Lux- 
embourg and \'auban. Entire harmony and good-will 
seemed to exist between the Grand Pensionary and the 
Prince after the latter's appointment to the command of 
the army. They corresponded in a very cordial tone, and 
De Witt showed the greatest eagerness to satisfy the 
wishes of the Prince for the thorough defence of the 
country. It is not our purpose to mention in detail 
the indefatigable exertions of John de \^'itt to place 
the country in a suitable state of defence. But these 
exertions and the measures they resulted in were not 
sufficient to avert the calamities of the war and to pre- 
vent a conquest which everybody had foreseen. The 
Netherlanders had enjoyed peace for twenty-four years, 
and this long rest had unaccustomed the countr}- to war. 
The constant quarrels between the different parties had 
weakened the unity of the Republic, and when the time 
for united and patriotic action came, the nation was but 
ill prepared for it. 

On the sixth of April, 1672, France issued a declaration 
200 



JOHN AND CORNELIUS DE WITT 

of war which had been long expected. Louis the Four- 
teenth celebrated beforehand the conquest he was about 
to undertake, although some of his most experienced gen- 
erals, Conde for instance, did not share his confidence. 
However, the rapidity with which the French, after hav- 
ing crossed the Yssel, took cities and fortresses almost 
without firing a gun, seemed fully to justify Louis the 
Fourteenth in his anticipation of an easy and brilliant 
victory. One short month had sufficed to place at the 
mercy of the French monarch the flourishing and pros- 
perous Republic, which four years before had interrupted 
him in his march of victory. No man suffered more both 
as a patriot and as a public official, from the disastrous 
turn in public affairs than John de Witt. He had done 
all that a sagacious statesman and a noble-minded patriot 
could do to prevent, and failing in this attempt, sought 
to repair the disasters which overwhelmed the Republic. 
But the ungrateful people failed to stand by him and re- 
ward his exertions for the public welfare. And not only 
the honor of having saved the independence of his coun- 
try in this unequal conflict was denied to him, but his 
life itself was lost, as a sacrifice to popular hatred and 
fanaticism. 

Under these exasperating circumstances — each new 
day bringing information of a new calamity, of the sur- 
render of a fortress, of the capitulation of a garrison, 
of the precipitate retreat of the army — it was not only 
natural, it was a matter of duty and patriotism for John 
de Witt, the head of the government, to enter into nego- 
tiations with the conqueror in order to check his rapid 
advance and get from him better terms of peace than 
might be expected after he had captured the last bul- 

20 1 



FAMOUS ASSASSINATIONS 

warks of Dutch independence. It was by no means De 
Witt's plan to open negotiations for the surrender of 
Dutch independence ; but he hoped that the French King 
would consent to suspend hostilities during the progress 
of the negotiations, and that this intermission would give 
the Republic time to strengthen its bulwarks. In case of 
an unfavorable result, he would resume armed resistance 
with greater chances of success than before. John de 
Witt had frequently, during the months preceding the 
outbreak of the war, insisted on making adequate prep- 
arations to meet an attack of the French King, whose 
restless ambition for military glory and territorial ex- 
pansion was well known. He had also pointed out (if 
all other means should fail) the necessity of again, as in 
the war with Spain, resorting to those means of defence 
which nature had placed in the possession of the Dutch, 
by opening the sluices and cutting the dykes, in order to 
let the sea overflow the bottom lands of the country, and 
thus protecting Holland, and above all Amsterdam, from 
foreign occupation. This last measure of defence, ter- 
rible and destructive as it was necessarily, was really the 
anchor of hope upon which the minds of Dutch patriots 
rested their expectations of final triumph. 

The Dutch navy was in excellent condition. It was 
still mistress of the seas, and it had lately, under the 
able command of De Ruyter one of the greatest naval 
heroes that ever lived, won two great victories over the 
fleets of France and England, which secured the Republic 
against the landing of foreign troops from the sea side. 
The Republic had spared no efforts to keep the navy in 
splendid condition, and more than any other man Cor- 
nelius de Witt had contributed to its efficiency. He was 

202 



JOHN AND CORNELIUS DE WITT 

an intimate friend of Admiral de Ruyter, and during 
the naval battle of Solbay, although seriously ill, he 
sat by his side, as the official delegate of the States- 
General, assisting him with his counsels, and by his very 
presence inspiring sailors and commanders with patriotic 
devotion. The greatness of his services to the Republic 
had been formally recognized after that battle by a unani- 
mous vote of thanks of the States-General. 

It would seem almost a matter of impossibility that 
with such a record of patriotism, integrity and devo- 
tion to the public welfare, the voice of calumny should 
have been successfully raised against the two illustrious 
brothers ; but it was done nevertheless by the Orange 
party, which did not forgive their opposition to the 
elevation of Prince William. The young Prince had, 
during the short campaign, won no martial laurels by 
victories in battles or by the capture of fortresses ; but 
he had shown eminent qualities which promised glori- 
ous results if an opportunity were given for unfolding 
them. He was wise and circumspect beyond his years, 
self-collected and cool amid the most pressing dangers, 
inexhaustible in resources, and while thoroughly loyal 
to the Republic, yet proud of his ancestors and the pre- 
eminent part they had played in the history of their 
country. 

As soon as the report became public that the Grand 
Pensionary had taken steps for negotiations with the 
French King, the Orange party denounced them as acts 
of treason, and loudly demanded that Prince William 
should be placed in supreme authority. It also as- 
serted that the failure of the campaign so far was due 
to the restrictions foolishly and criminally imposed on 

203 



FAMOUS ASSASSIXATIOXS 

the Frince, who inig^ht have saved the Repubhc if he 
had been permitted to follow the inspirations of his own 
grenius and had not been fettered by instructions from 
men that had been his life-long enemies and who pre- 
ferred the rule of a foreign monarch to the stadtholder- 
ship of a Prince of Orange. In this manner the public 
mind was filled with hatred toward the De Witts, while 
gradually the young Frince of Orange became the idol 
of the nation. Recollections of the glorious achievements 
of his forefathers, of their perseverance and patience, of 
their intrepidity and resoluteness, and of their final tri- 
umphs in situations as perilous as theirs, were awakened 
in the hearts of the burghers, and made them inclined 
to a restoration of the stadtholdership in behalf of the 
Prince. It was to be expected that sooner or later public 
excitement, aggravated from hour to hour by the unfa- 
vorable reports from the seat of war. would manifest 
itself in a violent explosion and fall with destructive force 
upon the very heads which were most entitled to public 
gratitude and veneration. 

Two attempts on the lives of the two brothers in the 
summer of 1672 — an attack on John de Witt which came 
ver>" near killing him and prostrated him for weeks on a 
sick bed. and the other on Cornelius, who escaped from 
it almost unhurt — were the first serious manifestations 
of the public ill-will. It Avas only too eAndent that the 
Orange party was at the bottom of these outbursts of 
hostility, and that Prince William himself was not a 
stranger to the intrigues. On the second of July, 1672. 
the Prince of Orange was elected Stadtholder of Holland 
and Zealand for life. These were the only two provinces 
not occupied by the French armies, and the Prince's 

204 




CORNELIUS DE WITT 



JOHN AND CORNELIUS DE WITT 

election was therefore equivalent to his appointment as 
Stadtholder of the Republic. In effect it placed the De 
Witts at his mercy. 

In vain the Grand Pensionary handed in his resigna- 
tion on the fourth of August. The Orange party was 
not satisfied with permitting him to retire from the public 
service ; it formed a sinister conspiracy which engulfed 
the two illustrious men in ruin and death. A worthless 
scoundrel, a certain Tichelaar who on several occasions 
had been accused of felonies, openly charged Cornelius 
de Witt with having tried to bribe him to assassinate the 
Prince Stadtholder, — a proposition which he had indig- 
nantly rejected in spite of the tempting rewards offered 
to him. Incredible as it may appear, the accusation, con- 
tradicted both by the noble character of Cornelius de 
Witt and by the bad reputation of the informer, was 
eagerly acted upon by the authorities of Holland. Cor- 
nelius was arrested and imprisoned at the Hague, where 
for four days he was subjected to the infamy of the 
torture. It was hoped that in his agony he would make 
a confession of guilt which, true or not, would justify 
his partisan judges in passing a sentence of death on 
him. But Cornelius remained firm in his disdainful de- 
nial of the odious accusation, and the repetition of the 
torture on four different days did not change his testi- 
mony. Under these circumstances his base judges, in- 
struments of the Stadtholder and his party, did not dare 
to pronounce the death sentence against him ; but they 
found him guilty nevertheless, deprived him of all his 
public dignities, and exiled him for life from the terri- 
tory of the Republic. 

It may appear strange that the Orange party perse- 
205 



FAMOUS ASSASSINATIONS 

cuted Cornelius de Witt, who was the brother of the 
Grand Pensionary, wnth such venomous hatred ; but an 
occurrence which had shortly preceded his arrest will 
explain the ill-w'ill of the leaders of the Orange party. 
Like the other cities of Holland, the city of Dordrecht 
had, by a vote of its Common Council, revoked the Per- 
petual Edict. Cornelius de Witt had but a few w^eeks 
before returned from the battle of Solbay, w^here he had 
so greatly distinguished himself, and was confined to his 
bed by serious illness. Being one of the highest city 
officials, his signature was required on the act of revo- 
cation, and the Orange leaders demanded that the docu- 
ment should be forthwith presented to him. City officials, 
followed by an excited and hostile mob, took it to his 
residence and requested him to sign it. He refused. In 
vain his family, his friends, and his servants implored 
him to affix his signature, telling him that a mob of 
thousands of excited people surrounded the house and 
threatened to demolish it and kill the inhabitants if his 
name should not appear on the paper. Finally the sup- 
plications and tears of his wife and children, imploring 
him. not to sacrifice their lives by his obstinacy, induced 
him to affix his signature, but he added the two initials 
V. C. to it ; and when the officials asked him what those 
two letters meant, he answered, " T.hey stand for the 
words ' Vi coactus ' " (yielding to violence). This dec- 
laration caused an outburst of indignation in the crowd, 
and but for the speedy erasure of the obnoxious initials 
by his wife, and the energetic efforts of his friends to 
protect him. Cornelius de Witt would very likely on that 
day have paid for his boldness with his life. It was as- 
certained that Tichelaar, who shortly afterwards accused 

206 



JOHN AND CORNELIUS DE WITT 

him of having planned the assassination of the Prince of 
Orange, had been one of the mob surrounding the house 
and vociferously demanding the punishment of the re- 
bellious magistrate. The infamous charge of Tichelaar 
against the great patriot had unquestionably sprung from 
the scene at Cornelius de Witt's residence. The Orange 
leaders saw that it would not be safe for them or their 
master to let republicans like the two De Witts remain 
anjong them, and their death was resolved upon. 

The twentieth of August, 1672, was the fatal day which 
was to seal the doom of the two illustrious brothers. 
Cornelius, crushed by the sentence of perpetual banish- 
ment pronounced against him, remained in his cell at 
the Buitenhof, the terrible prison of the Hague. On 
the morning of that day John de Witt was called 
to the Buitenhof, where his brother wished to see him. 
Although warned by his friends not to go, the brave 
ex-Pensionary did not hesitate to comply with the sum- 
mons. It was a false message. Reaching the prison, 
he foimd himself entrapped and at the mercy of the mob, 
which had assembled before the prison howling and 
shouting, " Hurrah for Orange ! Death to the traitors ! " 
It was but a short time after his arrival, and after a 
hurried and pathetic interview with his brother, that the 
rabble, instigated by the calumnies of the Orange men, 
burst open the doors of the prison, and with axes and 
sledge-hammers and clubs forced their way up to the 
cell where Cornelius was imprisoned. At the sight of 
the two brothers the fury of the mob knew no bounds. 
Like tigers they jumped upon them, threw them down, 
clubbed and slew them amid cries of beastly exultation. 
" There goes the Perpetual Edict ! " one of the butchers 

207 



FAMOUS ASSASSINATIONS 

is said to have exclaimed as a powerful blow with the 
butt-end of his musket prostrated John de Witt senseless 
at his feet. Another murderer came up, and noticing 
symptoms of returning consciousness in the countenance 
of the Pensionary, he fired his pistol at him, blowing out 
his brains. Cornelius was killed by a tremendous blow 
with an iron bar which fractured his skull ; he died 
instantly. But death alone did not satisfy the slayers. 
With unheard-of brutality they kicked, beat and abused, 
in every possible manner, the lifeless bodies, and finally, 
after having stripped off their clothes, dragged the 
mangled and disfigured remains from the jail to a gibbet 
which had been erected by volunteer executioners, and 
hung them by the feet. The popular frenzy went so far 
that the murderers cut and tore the flesh in pieces from 
the bodies of " the great traitors, John and Cornelius 
de Witt," and sold them in the streets of the city for a 
few cents each. 

Thus suffered and died, on the twentieth of August, 
1672, two of the purest and most high-minded patriots 
that any nation has produced, — murdered by their own 
people, whom they had served faithfully and successfully 
for many years. Their death is a dark blot on the an- 
nals of the Dutch Republic ; and it is an indelible stain 
on the otherwise great and fair name of William the 
Third of Orange, Stadtholder of the Dutch Republic 
and afterwards King of England. History has forgot- 
ten many crimes, but it will not forget the assassination 
of the brothers De Witt. 



208 



1^ 



CHAPTER XV 
ALEXIS, SON OF PETER THE GREAT 



14 




ALEXIS 



CHAPTER XV 

ASSASSINATION OF ALEXIS, SON OF PETER 
THE GREAT 

(June 26, 1718) 

THE sudden death of Alexis, son of Peter the Great 
by his first wife Eudoxia, has always been and is 
still shrouded in mystery ; but the prevailing opinion of 
historians is that the unfortunate young man was assas- 
sinated by direct order of his father, and all the sur- 
rounding circumstances point to this conclusion. We 
think we are therefore justified in placing it here among 
the famous assassinations in history. It is the darkest 
chapter in the history of Peter the Great, a monarch 
whose achievements as a civil administrator, reformer, 
and general entitle him to a high rank among the really 
great rulers of Europe ; but these achievements should 
not be made a cloak or excuse for a crime from which 
not only modern civilization, but human nature itself, 
shrinks back in horror. 

It is not necessary here to go into the details of the 
marvellous activity and energy of Peter's life. More 
than any other ruler of ancient or modern times he 
stands before the world as a model national reformer, 
introducing, by the force of an indomitable will, the 
most sweeping changes and reforms into the social, 

211 



FAMOUS ASSASSINATIONS 

economical, political, industrial, and commercial life of 
the nation over which he rules, breaking with all the 
traditions of the past, and lifting his nation by a supreme 
eflfort from comparative barbarism into semi-culture, and 
starting it on the road to political greatness and com- 
mercial importance, on which it has made such astound- 
ing progress during the last two hundred years. The 
personal genius and initiative of Peter the Great have 
contributed more to the development of Russia's re- 
sources, and he has done more to raise her to her pres- 
ent position in Europe than all other causes combined. 
It is sad for the philanthropist and historian to admit 
that these great qualities were obscured by vices and 
habits that were, perhaps, the tribute which even the 
greatest of mortals has to pay to his age and to his 
nation. 

As a very young man Peter had married Eudoxia 
Laputkin, the daughter of a powerful and influential 
family. It was not a love marriage, but he had hoped 
to gain from this alliance a strengthening of his preten- 
sions to the throne. Eudoxia was very handsome, but, 
while she pleased Peter, she had not the power to win 
his exclusive affection. She bore him a son, Alexis, but 
even the birth of an heir — generally so anxiously ex- 
pected by autocrats — could not firmly establish intimate 
relations between Peter and Eudoxia while he permitted 
the boy to remain entirely under the care of the mother 
and her relatives. Unfortunately the Laputkin family 
was strongly attached to ancient Russian traditions and 
usages. It was entirely under the influence of the priests 
and clung to the prejudices and prerogatives of the 
Russian aristocracy. Alexis was brought up in these 

212 



ALEXIS 

opinions and absorbed them from his infancy. In fact 
no two minds, and no two temperaments could have 
been more at variance than those of the father and of 
the son ; and, as the boy grew up, the antagonism be- 
tween Peter and Alexis became greater and more 
pronounced. 

Whether from incompatibility of temper or some other 
cause, Peter discarded Eudoxia and had her shut up in 
a convent in 1698; he then took the boy out of her hands 
and entrusted his education to teachers in sympathy with 
his own ideas. But they found it impossible — and even 
Peter himself, in spite of rigorous measures and cruelty 
— to eradicate from the mind of the boy the conserva- 
tive and old-Russian principles which his mother and the 
Laputkins had, as it would seem, planted deep within it. 
When Peter divorced Eudoxia and shut her up in a con- 
vent, the antipathy of the boy turned into hatred, and he 
clung only the more stubbornly to his mother and her 
family. As he grew older, he became intemperate and 
dissipated ; but, more than these vices, the sluggishness 
of his mind and the open hostility with which he looked 
upon the great reforms in which Peter was engaged and 
in which he took great pride, irritated his father to such 
a degree that the Czar formed the plan of excluding him 
from the succession. 

In order to break his bad habits and possibly to bring 
about a salutary change in his rude and uncouth con- 
duct, Alexis was married quite young to a Princess of 
Brunswick- Wolfenbiittel, a lovely and refined young 
woman of great personal beauty ; but Alexis treated 
her very coldly and cruelly. The fact that his father had 
selected his bride was sufficient cause for him to treat 

213 



FAMOUS ASSASSINATIONS 

her with contempt and aversion. She bore her misfor- 
tune with g-reat resignation ; but died of a broken heart, 
after having given her husband two children, a daugh- 
ter and a son. The latter afterwards ascended the throne 
as Peter the Second. 

The death of his wife made but little impression on 
Alexis, who had been living for a long time in open 
adultery with his mistress, an illiterate serf from Fin- 
land. When this matrimonial attempt to reform Alexis 
had failed, the Czar, more than ever incensed at his ob- 
stinacy, gave him the choice between changing his ways 
and being sent to a convent. The Czar was the more 
inclined to shut him up in a solitary place of confinement 
because Catherine, his second wife, had just given birth 
to a son, and Peter might hope to have a male heir, even 
with Alexis out of the way. The birth of this half- 
brother filled the mind of Alexis with vague fears. But 
being assured by his friends, and especially by the Laput- 
kins and the priests, that he might easily, at the proper 
time, get out of the convent, since the cowl would not be 
nailed to his head, he hypocritically declared in favor 
of the convent, and told his father that he had a greater 
vocation for spiritual things than for the government of 
an empire. The confinement was, however, not so very 
solitary as it might have appeared to the Czar ; on the 
contrary, both Alexis and Eudoxia were the chief per- 
sonages around whom the malcontents and all the op- 
ponents of reform clustered with hopeful expectation. 
Alexis treated his imprisonment so lightly that he im- 
prudently spoke of what he was going to do as soon 
as he had ascended the throne. " I shall be the Czar," 
said he ; " they cannot keep me out of the succession, 

214 



ALEXIS 

Let his foreigners intrigue against me ; I shall beat 
them all, for the people are for me, and I '11 set all 
things right again. We shall then be Russians once 
more ! " 

In the meantime Peter the Great had started on a new 
European tour. Catherine, his wife, accompanied him. 
He went to Prussia, Denmark, Holland, England and 
France, and was received everywhere with the greatest 
honors and distinctions. At Amsterdam the unwelcome 
news reached him that Alexis had left his convent under 
a false pretence, saying that he would join the Czar on 
his travels ; but he had proceeded to Vienna and placed 
himself under the protection of the German Emperor. 
The Czar immediately despatched two of his most inti- 
mate friends with instructions to bring him back, alive 
or dead. But when the two messengers reached Vienna, 
the Czarowitz had left that city already, and his where- 
abouts was unknown. But after a diligent search, it was 
discovered that he had gone to Naples and had found an 
asylum at the Castle of St. Angelo. The messengers 
hurried to Naples and succeeded in getting an interview 
with the Prince, in which they exhausted their eloquence 
to induce him to return with them to Russia. They read 
to him also a letter written by his father, who promised 
him that, upon his immediate return, his escapade would 
be forgiven and forgotten. The Prince was not willing 
to go, and consented only when the Viceroy of Naples 
joined his own request with the entreaties of the mes- 
sengers. The Czar had returned already to St. Peters- 
burg when Alexis arrived. 

The Prince hoped to be kindly received and to be 
treated like a repentant son ; but in this expectation he 

215 



FAMOUS ASSASSINATIONS 

found himself badly deceived. He was immediately ar- 
rested and subjected to a very severe interrogatory, in 
the course of which he implicated a number of promi- 
nent persons in having planned and assisted him in his 
flight from Russia. And then a mock trial of the most 
infamous character was enacted. The young Prince had 
already renounced all his rights to the crown ; but this 
renunciation did not assuage the vindictive spirit of his 
father. Those whom Alexis, in his confusion and in the 
agony of the torture, had implicated in the crime of which 
he was accused, were tried for high treason, convicted, 
and beheaded or broken on the wheel. The ex-Empress 
Eudoxia was transferred to a dungeon in another prison, 
after having been cruelly chastised by two nuns. Alexis 
himself, from whom the cruel application of the torture 
(during which the Czar was present) had extorted the 
confession of crimes which he had never committed, was 
convicted of high treason and sentenced to be beheaded. 
The Czar insisted on a verdict of capital punishment, and 
the one hundred and eighty-one judges composing the 
court obeyed the imperial brute ; they rendered a unani- 
mous verdict. Peter hypocritically said that he would 
pardon him. When the decision of the judges and his 
father's promise of clemency were communicated to 
Alexis, he was overcome with terror and excitement, 
and led back to prison. The next day it was reported 
that he had died of apoplexy, but that in his last mo- 
ments an affectionate interview had taken place between 
him and his father. Another report stated that the Czar 
had withdrawn his pardon and ordered his son to be be- 
headed without delay. And still another report, almost 
too horrid to be true, says that Peter, with his own hands, 

216 



ALEXIS 

cut off the head of his son. There is no doubt that the 
young man was foully murdered. The story of his death 
by apoplexy was merely invented to whitewash the mem- 
ory of one of the greatest, but also of one of the most 
brutal and cruel rulers that ever lived. 



217 



CHAPTER XVI 
PETER THE THIRD OF RUSSIA 




PETER III. 



CHAPTER XVI 

ASSASSINATION OF PETER THE THIRD OF 
RUSSIA 

(July 17, 1762) 

IN a previous chapter we have told the story, full of 
horror and crime, of the life of Ivan the Terrible of 
Russia. It was not one famous assassination which placed 
that life-story in this series of historical murders ; it was 
an uninterrupted, long-continued succession of butcheries 
and assassinations which entitled it to this place. In the 
long line of historical characters extending through the 
ages there is not one who so fully deserves the desig- 
nation of a wholesale assassin as Ivan the Terrible, the 
demon of the North. But strange to say, the Russians, 
who during his lifetime execrated him and fled from 
him as from contagion, to-day seem to have forgotten 
his iniquities, and place him among their great rulers. 
Let Karamsin. one of the few great historians Russia 
has produced, explain this seeming anomaly: "Such was 
the Czar! Such were his subjects! Their patience was 
boundless, for they regarded the commands of the Czar 
as the commands of God, and they considered every act 
of disobedience to the Czar's will as a rebellion against 
the will of God. They perished, but they saved for us, the 
Russians of the nineteenth century, the greatness and the 

221 



FAMOUS ASSASSINATIONS 

power of Russia, for the strength of an empire rests 
in the wilHngness of an empire to obey." Words like 
these make us comprehend — what otherwise would be 
utterly incomprehensible to us — that a monster like Ivan 
the Terrible was permitted to continue his career of crime 
and murder until it was terminated by death brought on 
by disease and not by \'iolence. 

The history of Russia, after the death of Ivan the 
Terrible, is full of crimes and assassinations. Czars and 
heirs to the cro\^•n were ruthlessly murdered in order to 
make way for usurpers and pretenders, until these again 
fell victims to conspiracies. The most famous of these 
assassinations is that of Peter the Third, not only be- 
cause it was carried out in the interest of his own 
wife, the Empress Catherine, but mainly perhaps because 
Russia, at that time. — 1762 — had already entered the 
list of great European powers. Peter the Third was the 
son of Charles Frederick. Duke of Holstein-Gottorp. and 
of the Grand-Duchess Anna of Russia, oldest daughter 
of Peter the Great. As such, young Peter had even a 
better right to the croA\"n of Russia than the Empress 
Elizabeth, who was a younger daughter of Peter the 
Great; and it was Elizabeth herself who. in 1742. sent 
for Peter — then a boy at school in Germany — and de- 
clared him her heir and successor to the crown. 

Peter was then only fifteen years of age. His edu- 
cation until then had been designed to fit him for the 
throne of Denmark and Sweden, upon which his father 
had a just claim ; but preferring the prospect of sitting 
on the throne of the Czars, he went to St. Petersburg. 
The Empress spared no pains to educate her nephew for 
the high and difficult task which was in store for him as 

222 



PETER THE THIRD OF RUSSIA 

the future ruler of Russia. But it was in vain that she 
tried to make a Russian of him ; he remained not only 
at heart, but also in his tastes, his manners, his conduct, 
his amusements and occupations a German ; and what 
was worse, he liked to show publicly and privately how 
strongly attached he was to the land of his birth, and 
how profoundly he despised the people of Russia, over 
whom he was to rule. In a foreign-born crown-prince 
such a disposition would have been a serious political 
mistake under all circumstances, but it was especially so 
in this case, since Russia had been engaged, for years, 
in war with Frederick the Great of Prussia, and had 
made great sacrifices in men and treasures to conquer 
him and to cripple his growing power and influence in 
Europe. 

Elizabeth hated Frederick the Great with the passion 
of a woman offended in her vanity. He had said of her : 
" She is as ugly as a cat and as treacherous ; the very 
thought of her makes me sick." The hatred of the Em- 
press did not prevent the Crown Prince from openly 
expressing his unbounded admiration for the Prussian 
King. True, Peter was mentally too insignificant to 
comprehend the real greatness and genius of Frederick ; 
but he admired the strict discipline, the rigid training, 
the incessant military exercises, the severe punishments 
for the slightest infraction of the rules and the least 
symptom of insubordination, — in short, all the outward 
and visible work in the preparation of a model army ; 
and the Prussian army had become the model of Europe 
since the days of King Frederick William the First. He 
was anxious to introduce these Prussian features into the 
Russian army, expecting very likely that such externals 

223 



FAMOUS ASSASSINATIONS 

would be the principal means of making an army invin- 
cible. That it took the genius and the untiring energy 
of a Frederick to bring about this invincibility he failed 
to see. When Peter had grown up to manhood his mili- 
tary zeal increased and became a perfect passion. But 
he felt no desire to join the Russian army in the field 
and earn military distinction and honors ; no, he pre- 
ferred to stay at home and act the drillmaster of a regi- 
ment of Holsteiners, which the Empress had organized 
for his especial pleasure, and to whose equipment, drill 
and exercises the young Grand Duke devoted most of 
his leisure hours. The men were uniformed and armed 
exactly like Prussian grenadiers, and all the officers be- 
longed to prominent German families. The organization 
of this regiment made the Grand Duke very unpopular 
among the members of the Russian nobility, and they lost 
no opportunity in blackening his character and belittling 
his mental qualifications. 

In 1745 Peter married the Princess of Anhalt-Zerbst, 
the daughter of a Prussian field-marshal. She was dis- 
tinguished by great beauty and high mental attainments, 
and afterwards won world-wide renown under the name 
of Catherine the Second. She was originally named 
Sophia Augusta, but when the Empress Elizabeth se- 
lected her for the wife of her successor, she adopted the 
name of Catherine. Before his marriage, Peter had led 
a rather dissolute life, but for a couple of years after the 
wedding the young couple seemed to be quite happy. 
Peter himself was very good-looking and, although not 
a man of brilliant mind, was of average intelligence 
and culture. An attack of small-pox destroyed his good 
looks ; and this circumstance combined with the volatile 

224 



PETER THE THIRD OF RUSSIA 

character of his wife caused an estrangement, which 
seemed to grow from year to year, and finally degener- 
ated into absolute hatred. From that time on husband 
and wife, although not formally divorced or even sepa- 
rated, lived each a life of unrestrained vice. 

No sooner had the courtiers noticed the growing cold- 
ness between them than they tried to ingratiate themselves 
with the young and beautiful but profligate Catherine, and 
some of them succeeded only too well. The first of her 
lovers was Count Soltikoff, one of the handsomest men 
of the Russian court, and first chamberlain of the Grand 
Duke. In his privileged position in the service of the 
Grand Duke he had so many opportunities of meeting 
the Grand Duchess, that soon the closest intimacy was 
established between them. But somehow or other a re- 
port of the liaison reached the ears of the Empress, and 
she sent Soltikoflf on a diplomatic mission to Turkey in 
the hope of putting a stop to it. But the Grand Duchess 
easily consoled herself. No sooner had Soltikoff left the 
capital than Catherine formed a new Haison. Her next 
lover was the beautiful and chivalrous Prince Poniatow- 
ski, of the renowned Polish family ; the scandal became 
so notorious and excited so much envy and jealousy 
among the Russian courtiers that it reached the ears of 
the Grand Duke, who applied to the Empress and de- 
manded that his wife be punished for her shameful con- 
duct. The Empress, who was guilty herself of many 
scandalous love affairs, did not reprimand the Grand 
Duchess, but sent Poniatowski back to Poland. A short 
time afterwards he returned, however, having been ap- 
pointed Polish Ambassador at the court of St. Petersburg. 
The Grand Duke was indignant at his unlooked-for re- 
15 225 



FAMOUS ASSASSINATIONS 

turn, and having one day surprised him in a very inti- 
mate tete-a-tete with Catherine, upbraided him and her 
in the presence of the whole court, threatening at the 
time to drive him Uke a dog from the palace, and to im- 
prison her in a convent. At the same time the Grand 
Duke himself was very far from leading an exemplary 
life. He had picked out among the ladies of the court a 
young and beautiful girl, Countess Woronzow, and made 
her his mistress. 

The time came when the Empress Elizabeth was on 
her deathbed. She made then a last attempt to recon- 
cile the Grand Duke and the Grand Duchess, in order 
to secure peace for Russia ; but the estrangement and 
repugnance which they felt for each other was so great 
that this attempt failed utterly. In fact, the chasm wid- 
ened immensely after the death of Elizabeth, and neither 
the husband nor the wife took care to conceal it. More- 
over, immediately after Peter's accession to the throne, 
a radical change occurred in the policy of the govern- 
ment, — a change that was warmly approved by some, 
but most bitterly opposed by others. Two great political 
parties were formed, and although the opponents of the 
government were compelled to practise their agitation in 
secret, they nevertheless counted a number of the most 
influential men among their leaders. The new Emperor 
broke loose entirely from the traditional policy of Russia ; 
he not only withdrew from the Franco-Austrian alliance, 
but he sent orders to the Russian generals in the field 
against Frederick the Great of Prussia to cooperate with 
him. Peter himself donned the uniform of a Prussian 
general, which grade Frederick the Great had con- 
ferred upon him at his special request; all exercises 

226 



PETER THE THIRD OF RUSSIA 

and manoeuvres of the Russian army were, by direction 
of the Czar, fashioned after those of the Prussian army, 
and Russian traditions and customs were disregarded. 

The indignation and discontent among the high nobiUty 
of Russia at these " reforms " — which they ridiculed and 
despised — knew no bounds. In these sentiments they 
were encouraged by the Czar's wife, who both from per- 
sonal hostility and from the intuition of her far-sighted 
political genius, opposed them as anti-Russian and as the 
manifestations of a Teuto-maniac unfit to rule over the 
great Russian nation. Her husband became more and 
more aggressive in his threats. He spoke openly, among 
his intimates, of his intention to imprison Catherine in a 
convent and to marry his mistress, Elizabeth Woronzow, 
and branded the son whom Catherine had borne to him, 
as a bastard, who would be excluded from the succes- 
sion. It was therefore in self-defence that Catherine 
surrounded herself with men of power and influence. 
She entered into close relations with high officers of the 
Russian army, who still adhered with loyal devotion to 
the traditions of Peter the Great and Elizabeth ; and 
although far from being pious and religious herself, she 
surrounded herself with the high dignitaries of the Rus- 
sian Church, whom Peter insulted by neglect. Catherine, 
on the other hand, manifested a great interest in reli- 
gious ceremonies and a strict observance of the Greek 
Church service ; and at all times prominent clergymen 
were guests at Peterhof, her residence. 

Peter the Third wished to realize on the throne of 
Russia the ideal of enlightened despotism, of which his 
idol, King Frederick the Second of Prussia, was so illus- 
trious a model. One of his first acts was to recall the 

227 



FAMOUS ASSASSINATIONS 

political exiles from Siberia — among them the two field- 
marshals Miinnich and Biron, who had been exiled by 
Elizabeth. It is assuredly one of the most lamentable 
spectacles to behold on the throne of a great Empire 
an ignorant, narrow-minded, whimsical, and fanatical 
ruler, introducing, under the name of " reforms," vital 
and extraordinary changes in the administration and 
government, utterly unsuited to the character and cul- 
ture of his nation. Even with the best intentions he 
will fail and pass for a fool. 

Many of Peter's measures were humane and just, and 
might have been considered judicious if he had not, by 
the manner in which he introduced them, provoked a 
resistance which proved fatal to them. He had no knowl- 
edge of Russian character, and looked down upon public 
sentiment. Even as Czar he gave public expression of 
his contempt for Russia, and placed it in every respect 
below Germany. With incredible self-sufficiency he dis- 
regarded all counsels to be more prudent in his public 
utterances and to proceed more slowly in his efforts to 
Prussianize Russia's methods of administration and her 
system of civil and criminal jurisprudence. He abolished 
time-honored institutions ; he attacked the privileges of 
the Church and the clergy ; he ordered the churches and 
chapels to be deprived of their wealth and golden orna- 
ments and images ; he confiscated real estate belonging 
to the government, but occupied and taken possession 
of by the clergy : he reduced the exorbitant salaries of 
great noblemen in the provinces. By such acts he 
engendered protests, dissatisfaction, and threats in the 
very classes upon which the throne has to lean in 
despotic countries. To cap the climax, he dismissed 

22a 



PETER THE THIRD OF RUSSIA 

the Russian body-guards and surrounded himself ex- 
clusively with German troops. The Duke of Holstein- 
Gottorp, his own cousin, was placed in command of 
these German regiments, under whose protection the 
Emperor considered himself absolutely safe. The King 
of Prussia, who was well informed on all matters going 
on at the Russian court, and who more than anybody else 
in Europe had an interest at stake to prolong the reign 
of his admirer, warned him again and again against the 
intrigues of his wife and the " old-Russian party," but 
Peter was blinded by his prejudices and paid no attention 
to the warnings. He underrated his wife's talent for 
political combinations and intrigue, and was far from 
suspecting that from the very first day of his reign his 
fate was sealed and his days numbered. 

A great historian has called Catherine of Russia " the 
Messalina-Richelieu " of history, indicating by that com- 
bination that she was a monster of voluptuousness, in- 
satiable in lust, and a prodigy of statecraft and political 
shrewdness. The name is wonderfully appropriate, for 
hardly ever has any female ruler, with the exception of 
the infamous Roman Empress, so shamelessly prostituted 
herself as Catherine the Second of Russia, and never has 
any woman, not even Elizabeth of England, possessed 
political genius to a higher degree. It was Peter the 
Great who introduced Russia into the list of European 
states, but it was Catherine the Second whose genius 
breathed into the gigantic empire its policy of grasping 
and ambitious expansion, which has placed her standards 
as tutelary guards already over the northern half of Asia, 
and which is yet far from being satisfied. 

While the Czar was amusing himself with new re- 
229 



FAMOUS ASSASSINATIONS 

forms which were at best dead letters and created new 
enemies for him, his wife was untiring in her efforts to 
win new friends and new supporters for the great coup 
d'etat which she was preparing as the crowning act of 
her ambition. She wanted to be Empress in her own 
name, in order that she might make Russia great and 
not be molested and embarrassed by a husband whom 
she hated and despised. Her own personal memoirs, 
written in French and published in London in 1858, 
whose authenticity has never been seriously doubted, 
shows that when only fifteen years old, she was possessed 
by this ambition, which she afterwards so fully realized. 
Among the influential persons whose active cooperation 
Catherine had secured for her ambitious plans was 
Princess Dashkow, a young woman of excellent educa- 
tion and great ability, and sister of Elizabeth Woronzow. 
Princess Dashkow, who, on account of the superiority 
of her mind had great influence over her sister, proved 
a powerful auxiliary to Catherine in this most critical 
period of her married life. Through her, Catherine 
gained Count Panin, one of the ablest men of Russia 
and governor of the young Grand-Duke Paul, Catherine's 
son, as her ally. She told Panin that she knew from her 
sister (the Czar's mistress) that Peter the Third was on 
the point of repudiating his wife, that he denied the 
legitimacy of the young Grand Duke, that he intended 
to exclude him from the succession, and to declare Ivan 
the Sixth his successor. This Prince had been dethroned 
by Elizabeth and was retained as a prisoner in the fortress 
of Schliisselburg, but had fallen into idiocy. These con- 
fidential communications induced Panin, who trembled 
for his own position and possibly for his head, secretly 

230 



PETER THE THIRD OF RUSSIA 

to join the army of malcontents, whose programme it 
was to dethrone Peter the Third, proclaim his son, Paul, 
Emperor, and Catherine Regent of the Empire during 
Paul's minority. This programme was not exactly that 
of Catherine, who aspired to be the sovereign Empress 
of Russia, and not merely the Regent during her son's 
minority, but with consummate ability she welcomed 
Panin's overtures as steps leading to her own elevation. 
Whether Catherine had fully weighed and approved 
all the possibilities which might result from the revolu- 
tion which she had planned and for which she had 
found so many instruments willing to help her, will 
very likely remain forever an unsolved problem. Was 
she willing to sanction the murder of her husband in 
order to step over his corpse to the throne? This has 
been an open question with native and foreign historians. 
Perhaps she honestly believed with Panin that she might 
get rid of Peter in some way without either killing him 
or imprisoning him for life. But it is absolutely certain 
that Catherine, in the summer of 1762, came to the con- 
clusion that the time had come for striking a decisive 
blow ; and it is equally certain that, although not cruel 
by nature, she never shrank back from any means to 
remove obstacles standing in the way of her ambition. 
By the agency of her generals, Suwarow, Potemkin, and 
Repnin, she sacrificed whole nations to her ambition, 
and swept them oflf the face of the earth without feeling 
any compunction at the barbarities committed. Does it 
look improbable therefore that she may have consented 
to the assassination of her husband, whom she detested, 
when all other means of silencing his claims to the 
throne appeared unsafe? 

231 



FAMOUS ASSASSINATIONS 

A very important part, in fact the most important of 
all, in the conspiracy against the Czar, was taken by 
the Orloffs. and especially by Count Gregor Orloflf, the 
favored lover of Catherine, who had the reputation of 
being the handsomest officer of the Russian army. The 
Empress was passionately in love with him, although 
pretty well founded rumors asserted that she bestowed 
her secret favors also on Gregor's brother, Alexis, a 
perfect giant in stature and of herculean strength. All 
the Orloffs — Gregor. Alexis, Ivan, and Feodor — held 
positions as officers in the imperial guards or in the artil- 
lery, and were among the warmest adherents of Catherine, 
whose elevation would raise them, as they well knew, 
to the highest position in the Empire, immediately by 
the side of the throne. They became active agitators 
for her in the army, and were really the principal actors 
in the terrible drama of Peter's assassination. Quite a 
bloody tradition attached to the Orloff family, and the 
part which they were to play in the revolution against 
Peter the Third lent new confirmation to it and re- 
called it to the minds of the Russian people. At the 
time when Peter the Great abolished the strelitzi, at- 
tended their horrid executions, even helped in them, one 
day the block of the executioner was so crowded with 
the heads of the victims that there was no room for 
others. Then one of the condemned coolly stepped for- 
ward and pushed several of the heads off the bench, as 
if it had been his business to do so. The Czar looked 
on in astonishment and turning to the man, who had 
already attracted his attention by his herculean frame and 
the classic beauty of his features, asked him : " ^^^^at are 
you doing that for?" "To make room for my own 

232 



PETER THE THIRD OF RUSSIA 

head ! " was the cool reply. Peter the Great, who ad- 
mired personal courage above everything else, was so 
well pleased with the reply, that he immediately par- 
doned the condemned and set him free. This pardoned 
officer was a young nobleman, named Orloflf — the grand- 
father of the five Orlofis who played such a conspicu- 
ous part in the revolution of 1762, and one of whom 
murdered Peter the Third with his own hands. 

The outbreak of the revolution, as is usual in such 
cases, was caused by an unexpected and trifling occur- 
rence. A young officer of the imperial guards, who had 
been won over to the party of Catherine, one evening 
while under the influence of liquor, talked about the 
impending revolution and was arrested by other officers 
who were not in the conspiracy. Gregor Orloff heard 
of the arrest and immediately hurried to Catherine, who 
was at Peterhof and had already retired for the night. 
But Orloflf went directly to her bedroom, aroused her 
from sleep and told her that immediate action on her 
part was necessary, unless she wanted to imperil and 
very likely lose the game for whose success they had 
been working so patiently. 

Catherine's resolution was quickly taken. She imme- 
diately got up, dressed rapidly, and half an hour after- 
wards the carriage which had carried Orloflf from St. 
Petersburg, returned thither with the Empress and her 
attendant. It was five o'clock in the morning of the 
twenty-ninth of June when they arrived at the capital. 
Two hours later Catherine was on horseback, dressed in 
the uniform of a general of the imperial guards, which 
Count Buturlin had furnished, on her way to the armory 
of the Preobrajenski guards, accompanied by Gregor 

233 



FAMOUS ASSASSINATIONS 

and Alexis Orloff, and an escort of high officers who 
were in the conspiracy. Princess Dashkow, also in an 
officers uniform, had preceded her, and had announced 
to the officers of the guards that the Emperor, Peter 
the Third, had died suddenly, that the Empress would 
shortly appear among them in order to receive their 
homage and their oath of obedience as heiress to the 
throne and Regent of the Empire during the minority 
of her son. The officers consented immediately and in- 
fluenced their soldiers without difficulty when they were 
reminded of the late Czar's unjust partiality for the 
Geniian regiments, and of Catherine's unwavering kind- 
ness to them. Both officers and soldiers greeted Cath- 
erine, therefore, very enthusiastically when she arrived 
an hour later, and both swore allegiance and devotion 
to her. Catherine's bearing on this tr}-ing occasion, was 
full of courage and dash. She had never looked more 
beautiful, and the three regiments were perfectly charmed 
with their new ruler. She then proceeded with her escort 
to the Casan Church, where, in the meantime, the Arch- 
bishop of Novgorod and the entire clergy of the capital 
had been assembled and were waiting for her. The 
Archbishop administered the oath of office to her, and 
Catherine swore to respect the laws and institutions of 
the Empire and to protect the religion of the people, 
whereupon the entire clergA- swore allegiance to her. A 
solemn Te Deum. sung by thousands of voices, termi- 
nated the grand ceremony, while the roar of artillery 
announced to the inhabitants of St. Petersburg the acces- 
sion of a new ruler. Catherine had reached the goal of 
her ambition : she was now the sovereign ruler of Russia, 
not merely in name, but in fact. She returned to the 

234 



PETER THE THIRD OF RUSSIA 

imperial palace, where an immense multitude greeted her 
with enthusiastic cheers. Many thousand roubles were 
scattered among the populace, which was moreover 
treated liberally with whiskey and other intoxicants, and 
cheered vociferously, until Catherine, who looked charm- 
ingly beautiful in her gaudy uniform, showed herself 
again and again on the balcony. Count Galitzin, vice- 
admiral of the Russian fleet, was on a visit at St. Peters- 
burg on that day. Catherine sent for him, won him over 
to her side by amiability and promises, and sent him 
back to Kronstadt, the Russian naval port, to inspire the 
garrison and sailors of that stronghold with enthusiasm 
for the Empress, — so that the capital was protected on 
the seaward side against a possible attack by Peter the 
Third. 

But even after having acted so promptly and so ener- 
getically, and after having got possession of the capital 
and the principal part of the army and the navy, Cath- 
erine had still a great deal to do, and her penetrating 
genius did not underrate the danger of the situation in 
which she found herself. All her successes in the capital 
among officers had been secured by the fraudulent asser- 
tion that the Czar had died suddenly, and there was no 
certainty whether Peter's sudden appearance at the capi- 
tal, or a well-authenticated report that he was still among 
the living and was hastening toward the capital, might 
cause a sudden change in public sentiment. Undaunted 
by these secret apprehensions, and impelled by the rest- 
less energy of her devouring ambition, she never wavered 
in her resolution, but pressed onward toward the con- 
summation of her dangerous but tempting project, which 
seemed to be almost within her grasp. Through the 

235 



FAMOUS ASSASSIXATTOXS 

acm^ a^Ttaricm of her friend*;, and the strotu: and w-ide- 
^:iread hosrilirv of the people and the SLvrnx acainsi Peter's 
ill-«dvised tneasnres of '" reform.' she coold. almost from 
the first amionncement of her accessJcm to the throne, 
coTTimand an army of tifteen thotjsand ^'eJl-eqtnpped ixksi, 
-who were ready to die for her against any pretender, 
Peter the Third mdnded. 

The onrbreak of the revohataon ^:a5 so stidden that 
Peter «-as taken entirely by snrprise. and wonld not listen 
to the first reports M'hen they reached him. He had graoe 
an that vet} day to Oranienhatnn. an imperial snnnner 
Tesort. ab, " - from St. Petersbnrs;. -u-here 

he enioA'e. - > Holstein gnards. his favar- 

lies, and his mistress, Ehzab^h AVorcmzow, There ^n^^re 
altocerher about rw'o thousand soldier? -with him ; bat 
there was also Field-marshal Mimnich, Russia's most re- 
non-ned soldier, and a man of great authority in the array. 
Moreover Mimnich was a man of great personal courage 
sod if Peter had followed his .~ — -:"- he might have 
saved his crown and his life. . s advice was to 

take immediate and boQd tneasnres, to meet ag^ressian 
by aggression, and to oppose the immense prestige of 
the legitimate mler to the revolntianan- nsnrpation of 
an ambitions and adnlterons wife. Bnt neither Peter's 
personal character, nor his imnjediate snrronn dings wci^d 
admir of the acceptance of snch bold and aggresave 
acrioTi. He was like a helpless child, hesitating and vacil- 
ladng. sending out orders, and revoking them the next 
hour : asking everybody- "s 2 "-■ ~: — ^. following nobody's. 
His mistress was bewailinc ^mme. cnrsing Cath- 

erine and her treachery, and falhng into hysterics at the 
mere thought of a bloodr strngs"!^ for snpremacr between 



PETER THE THIRD OF RUSSIA 

Peter and his wife. It was easy to foresee the outcome 
of so much indecision, vacillation and cowardice on one 
side, and of so much determination, firmness and cour- 
age on the other. 

After nearly the whole day had been spent in fruitless 
attempts to come to a decision. Miinnich finally, at about 
eight o'clock in the evening, succeeded in persuading Peter 
to go on board of a yacht and proceed to Kronstadt, 
where, he expected, the Emperor would be warmly wel- 
comed. If this step had been taken earlier in the day, it 
would very likely have been successful. But it will be 
remembered that Catherine, after her return from the 
Casan church, had an interview with Count Galitzin, 
commander-in-chief of the naval forces at Kronstadt. and 
had secured his cooperation. The Emperor was there- 
fore not permitted to enter the harbor, and when he 
himself appeared in the fore-part of the yacht and pro- 
claimed his identity-, he was simply told to return to 
where he came from, and that Russia had no longer an 
emperor, but an empress. Miinnich then appealed to 
Peter not to be deterred by such words, but to get into 
one of the boats, in which he would accompany him, 
and to effect a landing. '' They will not shoot you.'' the 
old field-marshal said, " this whole affair is a bold game 
some of the high officers are pla>-ing, but the soldiers are 
kept in ignorance, and when they meet their Emperor 
face to face they will throw down their arms." But 
when the women heard from Peter that he would under- 
take to effect a landing on the coast, they burst into tears 
and filled the ship with loud lamentations and cries, and 
the Czar's mistress threw herself at his feet imploring him 
not to expose his precious life to the bullets of the rebels. 



FAMOUS ASSASSINATIONS 

and not to abandon her, helpless and heartbroken, to 
the revenge of his enemies. Peter was only too glad to 
take her despair as a pretext to recede from Miinnich's 
proposition. 

Miinnich was disgusted and wished the women were 
a thousand miles off; but he made still another propo- 
sition. He wanted to turn the imperial yacht toward 
Reval, where quite a number of Russian warships were 
assembled. Peter was to take command of this fleet, sail 
to Pomerania, land on Prussian soil, proceed as rapidly 
as possible to the large Russian army concentrated there, 
and return at the head of that army to St. Petersburg, 
which, as the old and bold field-marshal believed, would 
not even attempt to make resistance. " Within sixty 
days," said he to Peter, " your Empire will be at your 
feet again, your wife will be at your mercy, and your 
whole people will hail you as a conqueror and savior ! " 
The plan was good and would very likely have succeeded 
if it had been promptly acted upon. There were nearly 
eighty thousand Russian soldiers — and they were the 
elite of the Russian army — in Pomerania, and if Peter 
had been supported by them, he could easily have quelled 
the rebellion and recovered the throne. 

But Peter was not the master of his own decisions. 
He obediently bowed to the will of his mistress and her 
lady friends, and they strongly protested against this new 
plan of the old fighter and " war-horse," who, they de- 
clared, had no heart and did not know what love meant. 
Countess Woronzow persuaded Peter that the proper 
thing for him to do was to return to Oranienbaum or 
Peterhof and make his peace with the Empress, who 
would be only too glad to make an arrangement with 

238 



PETER THE THIRD OF RUSSIA 

him satisfactory to both. This suggestion corresponded 
too well with the pusillanimous and vacillating character 
of Peter to be rejected by him. So the whole party 
returned to Peterhof, and negotiations were at once 
opened with Catherine tending towards a reconciliation 
of the husband and wife. Peter addressed a letter to 
his wife in which he offered her the co-regency of the 
Empire, assuring her at the same time that the occur- 
rences of the past week should be entirely forgotten and 
that love and harmony should in the future prevail in 
the imperial household. The letter was haughtily rejected 
by the Empress ; no answer came to it but a verbal mes- 
sage that it was too late, and that no further communi- 
cation from him would be received except an act of 
entire abdication. Peter thereupon surrendered uncon- 
ditionally. He wrote a second letter to his wife, in which 
he very humbly asked permission both for himself and 
his mistress, Countess Woronzow, and a number of his 
attendants to return to Holstein, where they would live 
quietly in retirement from all public affairs. In order to 
carry out this wish, he asked for a pension enabHng him 
to live in becoming style, and in exchange for these favors 
he recognized Catherine as Regent of the Empire during 
his son's minority. 

Major-General Michael Ismailoff, one of Peter's most 
intimate and most trusted friends, was the bearer of this 
valuable document, which seemed to satisfy Catherine, 
but was not equally satisfactory to Count Gregor Orloff, 
who hoped to secure the hand of the Empress when 
Peter had been put out of the way. Orloff's secret de- 
sign was to assassinate Peter and then take his place 
by Catherine's side. The Orloffs therefore took hold of 

239 



FAMOUS ASSASSINATIONS 

General Ismailoff, after he had handed the Czar's letter to 
the Empress, and induced him by supplications and bril- 
liant promises to come over to their side, and to assist 
them in making Peter a prisoner as the only means of 
restoring peace and avoiding civil war. At first Ismailofif 
resisted their offers, but at last he yielded. He returned to 
Peterhof and played the part of a traitor to perfection. 
He told Peter that he had delivered his letter to the 
Empress, and that she would, as a matter of course, grant 
the request he had made, but that she was overcome with 
sorrow at the turn things had taken, that she was per- 
fectly willing to admit him to a co-regency and to be rec- 
onciled to him, and that she was anxious to meet him in 
a private interview at Oranienbaum in order to arrange 
matters to their mutual satisfaction. 

Peter fell easily into the trap. He immediately accepted 
the invitation and got ready to go to Oranienbaum. At 
first he proposed to go there under the escort of his Hol- 
steiners, but Ismailofif persuaded him to let them stay at 
Peterhof, because it might look as though he distrusted 
the Empress and might offend her. Peter therefore went 
to Oranienbaum, accompanied only by Ismailoff, who 
encouraged him in his most extravagant expectations of 
a brilliant career still in store for him. But there was a 
sad and sudden awakening from this dream of greatness. 
On his arrival at Oranienbaum he found the courtyard 
filled with forty or fifty kibitkas ; and Ismailoff, changing 
his conduct and tone suddenly, told him that he was a 
prisoner. Peter, without arms and without friends, re- 
signed himself to his fate almost without a word of pro- 
test. He was led to one of the kibitkas, already occupied 
by two strong officers armed to the teeth, and then all 

240 



PETER THE THIRD OF RUSSIA 

the kibitkas started at once in as many different directions 
as there were roads leading to Oranienbaum. This was 
done in order to deceive the spectators as to the direction 
which Peter's kibitka had taken. He was conveyed to 
Robzak, a country villa near the village of Kraskazelo, 
a short distance from Petersburg, but rather isolated and 
out of the way of the regular traffic. Moreover pre- 
cautions were taken to surround the villa with soldiers. 
Peter was treated almost with cruelty in his solitary con- 
finement. He was not permitted to communicate with 
anybody, and his friends were kept in profound ignorance 
as to his whereabouts. Many of them believed that he 
was either at Peterhof or at Petersburg. He addressed 
a pitiable letter to the Empress in w^hich he humbly 
petitioned her to send him his negro servant, with whom 
he liked to play, his favorite dog, his violin, his Bible and 
a few novels. But the letter remained unanswered, and 
none of the things asked for were sent. 

In the forenoon of July seventeenth, Alexis Orloff, ac- 
companied by several officers, arrived at Robzak. They 
had an order from the Empress admitting them to Peter's 
presence. OrlofT and an officer named Tepelof — both 
men of herculean strength — entered the deposed Em- 
peror's room, and found him in a despondent mood. 
They carried some delicacies, — among them bottles of old 
Burgundy wine, which was poisoned. They announced 
to Peter that his term of imprisonment would soon be 
ended, and that he would then be permitted to return to 
Holstein, his native country. Peter was overjoyed at this 
announcement, and invited the officers, whom he treated 
as his guests, to take dinner with him ; they readily con- 
sented and produced the delicacies and the wine they had 
i6 241 



FAMOUS ASSASSINATIONS 

brought. At the dinner-table Orloff presented a glass of 
Burgundy to Peter, who swallowed it rapidly ; but the 
wine was so strongly poisoned that he felt the effect 
almost instantly. He jumped from his chair, scream- 
ing and howling with pain. " I am poisoned ! I am 
poisoned!" he cried, "give me milk, give me oil!" 
The two assassins terrified with what they had done sent 
for milk and oil, which he swallowed eagerly. But after 
a few minutes they took courage again and resolved to 
complete their murderous work. Peter's cries had at- 
tracted two or three officers, who entered the room ; but 
instead of protecting him, they assisted the conspirators. 
All at once Alexis Orloff rushed upon Peter, who had 
thrown himself upon his bed, writhing in pain, and tried 
to choke him. Peter himself was a man of herculean 
strength, and defended himself with the courage of 
despair. The iron grasp of Orloff's fingers did not 
release his throat, and the Czar's face became as black 
as a negro's. At last, by a terrible blow, he freed him- 
self from Orloff, but while he tried to take breath, the 
four or five assassins rushed upon him all at the same 
time ; they dragged him from the bed, and when he 
fell into an arm-chair, they threw a large napkin round 
his neck and strangled him until he was dead. He fell 
from the chair to the floor and expired in a few minutes. 
A number of officers had witnessed the terrible scene 
from a terrace which afforded a full view of the prisoner's 
room. 

The admirers of Catherine have often denied her active 
participation in the crime of Peter's assassination ; but 
they have never succeeded in making the world believe 
in her innocence. In fact, how could she be innocent, 

242 



PETER THE THIRD OF RUSSIA 

since the assassins were admitted to Peter's presence 
upon a direct order issued by her, with no other business 
for them to do than to kill him? And then her conduct 
after the horrible crime had been perpetrated is sufficient 
evidence of her guilt. She did not regret the murder, 
and she rewarded the murderers. Even in the announce- 
ment of Peter's sudden death she manifested a brutal- 
ity which defied decency and common-sense. In a few 
words, without adding one word of sorrow at the death 
of one who, as she asserted, was the father of her son, 
she announced to the Russian people and to the foreign 
ambassadors at St. Petersburg that the dethroned Czar 
Peter the Third, had suddenly died from the effects of a 
hgemorrhoidal colic, to which he was subject, and which 
had caused a stroke of apoplexy. This cool declaration 
was to account for the horrible appearance of Peter's 
countenance, which looked almost black even in death, 
and which could not be concealed from the people. It 
had always been customary to exhibit to the public the 
corpse of a deceased Czar and to place him on a cata- 
falque where the people could see him and pay their 
respect to him. This public exhibition could not be 
avoided without immensely strengthening the suspicion 
of foul play ; and Catherine boldly underwent the ordeal. 
The black hue of the countenance could not be changed, 
but Peter's neck was entirely covered up with a very 
high and stiff stock, which concealed the finger-marks of 
his assassins. Among the spectators was the old field- 
marshal. Prince Trubetzkoi, well known for his rudeness 
and sincerity. He rapidly stepped up to the bier, where 
Peter lay in state, and exclaimed in a loud tone of voice : 
" Why, why, Peter Fedorowitch, what ridiculous kind of 

243 



FAMOUS ASSASSINATIONS 

necktie have they bundled around your neck ? You never 
wore such a thing in your Hfe; why should you wear it 
now when you are dead ? " And he began to open the 
stock, and would have exposed Peter's throat to public 
view, if the guards, in spite of the high rank of the Prince, 
had not forcibly dragged him away. 

Unfortunately for the memory of Catherine the Second 
the assassination of her husband was not the only assas- 
sination caused by her usurpation of the Russian throne. 
It will be remembered that Peter had repeatedly threatened 
to disown, and consequently to exclude from the succes- 
sion, Paul, the son whom Catherine had borne to him, 
and whom he openly branded as a bastard, and to this 
threat he added the declaration that he would name as 
his successor the young ex-Emperor Ivan the Sixth, who 
had been dethroned by the Empress Elizabeth, and who 
was still imprisoned at Schliisselburg. This threat was 
fatal to the poor young Prince, who during his long se- 
clusion had become half-idiotic and had lost the knowl- 
edge of his identity. But nevertheless the fear that he 
might be used by her enemies as a legitimate pretender, 
with better rights to the crown than her own, haunted 
Catherine's mind, and she did not rest until he had fallen 
a victim to the assassin's dagger. 

Strict orders had been issued to the commandant of the 
fortress of Schliisselburg that on the first attempt to 
liberate Ivan he should be immediately put to death. And 
then a new infamy was committed which very likely 
sprang from Catherine's own diabolical genius. There 
was a young and poor lieutenant named Mirowitch, in 
the garrison of Schliisselburg who was infatuated with 
admiration for the Empress and anxious to render her a 

244 



PETER THE THIRD OF RUSSIA 

service. He was approached by one of his superior offi- 
cers (probably an Orloff) and his attention was directed 
to Ivan. " If he were out of the way," he was told, " the 
Empress would never forget it, and would reward the 
service in an imperial manner." Mirowitch took the hint 
and resolved to merit the Empress's gratitude by assas- 
sinating Ivan. Under some pretext he really came to the 
door of the room in which Ivan was kept a prisoner. Two 
officers were on guard there, but when they heard Miro- 
witch's voice demanding admittance and threatening to 
break open the door, they rushed upon Ivan and put him 
to death. Then they opened the door, and finding Miro- 
witch before them, they showed him Ivan's corpse and 
arrested him. Mirowitch was put on trial. The crime 
he was charged with was an attempt to abduct the im- 
prisoned Ivan and to proclaim him Emperor of Russia. 
Mirowitch did not defend himself. He only smiled. He 
knew who stood behind him and would protect him from 
injury. He was found guilty and sentenced to be be- 
headed. He laughed at the sentence and never lost cour- 
age. With a smile he ascended the scaflfold and looked 
around, wondering why the imperial messenger with the 
pardon and the reward was not coming. The priest ap- 
proached him and prayed for him. He listened with little 
attention, and still a smile hovered on his features. But 
suddenly the executioner took hold of him, held him in 
his iron grasp, and threw him down. It was the last 
moment and no messenger appeared yet ; and then only 
Mirowitch reaHzed his terrible fate. With a scream of 
mad rage he commenced wrestling with the executioner, 
and while uttering a cry of execration against Catherine, 
his severed head rolled upon the scaflfold. The assassi- 

245 



FAMOUS ASSASSINATIONS 

nation of two czars — one of them her own husband — 
was the bloody price which Catherine paid for the throne 
which she was to make great and renowned by a long 
and glorious reign. How easily great crimes are for- 
gotten if committed by sovereigns of genius ! 



246 



CHAPTER XVII 
GUSTAVUS THE THIRD OF SWEDEN 




GUSTAVUS III. 



CHAPTER XVII 

ASSASSINATION OF GUSTAVUS THE THIRD OF 
SWEDEN 

(March 17, 1792) 

ON the seventeenth of March, 1792, Gustavus the 
Tliird, King of Sweden, was assassinated by An- 
karstrom, a Swedish nobleman, and this crime caused a 
sensation throughout Europe, although the horrors of 
the French Revolution and the wholesale executions by 
the guillotine had made the world familiar with murder 
and bloodshed. This assassination was of a political 
character, and private revenge or other considerations 
had nothing whatever to do with it. But in order to 
understand fully the causes leading up to the tragedy, 
it will be necessary to refer to the condition of public 
affairs in Sweden during the period preceding the reign 
of Gustavus. 

The continuous and costly wars of Charles the Twelfth 
had left Sweden in a terrible state of exhaustion and 
misery. A number of her most valuable provinces had 
been taken by Russia, and the domestic affairs of the 
country, its finances, industry and commerce were ut- 
terly ruined. Charles died during his invasion of Nor- 
way ; it would really be more proper to say " was 
assassinated " ; for, on the evening of the eleventh of De- 

249 



FAMOUS ASSASSINATIONS 

cember, 1718, while leaning against a parapet and look- 
ing at the soldiers throwing up the breastworks, he was 
struck down by a bullet, which could not have come 
from the enemy, in front of the fortress of Fredericks- 
hall. In spite of the very severe winter weather, Charles 
had insisted on laying siege to the strong fortress, and 
he paid for his obstinacy with his life. 

When the news of his death reached Sweden, the no- 
bility took advantage of it and of the unsettled question 
of the succession to the throne in order to recover those 
privileges and rights which it had lost through the genius 
and statesmanship of Charles the Eleventh, and which 
had not been restored to it during the reign of Charles 
the Twelfth. The Reichsrath was immediately reinstated 
in its old rights, and arrogated to itself the power of 
deciding the succession according to its own will and 
advantage. It coolly passed by the lawful heir, Charles 
Frederick of Holstein-Gottorp, the son of Charles the 
Twelfth's elder sister, and elected Frederick of Hesse- 
Cassel, who had married Charles the Twelfth's younger 
sister; not, however, without having compelled the royal 
couple to renounce, both for themselves and for their 
heirs, all absolute power, and also to make a solemn 
promise that the Reichsrath should be reinstated in all 
its former rights and prerogatives, which made that As- 
sembly actually co-regent of the kingdom. The Reichs- 
rath was declared sovereign ; it had seventeen members, 
and each member had, in the decision of public ques- 
tions, one vote, and the King only two. It decided all 
questions of domestic and foreign policy arbitrarily, and 
controlled not only the legislative, but also the executive 
action of the government. The King was a mere figure- 

250 



GUSTAVUS THE THIRD OF SWEDEN 

head, poorly salaried and of little influence. But this 
degradation of the crown was only one feature of the 
oligarchy established by the Reichsrath. It restored to 
the nobility all the domains and landed estates which 
had been appropriated by the crown during the preced- 
ing century, exempted them from taxation, conferred 
upon them the exclusive right of holding all the higher 
offices in the army, navy and civil service, and heaped 
all public burdens upon the lower classes of the people. 
The King, shorn of all power, was utterly helpless to 
prevent these wrongs. His timid protests were always 
met with a reminder that he had been elected to the 
throne only after having promised to reinstate and not 
to disturb the nobility in the enjoyment of their ancient 
rights. The Reichsrath also concluded treaties of peace 
with the powers upon which Charles the Twelfth had 
made war, and as the members negotiating these treaties 
looked out much more for their own advantage than for 
that of their country, Sweden was so badly crippled that 
it ceased being a great European power. That honor 
passed from Sweden to two other countries which up 
to that time had been considered Sweden's inferiors in 
power and influence, — Russia and Prussia. 

It was not long before the Reichsrath, whose members 
sold themselves to foreign rulers, was split up into dif- 
ferent factions which fought bitterly for supremacy. One 
of these factions favored France and was regularly sub- 
sidized with French money, while the other faction was 
equally well subsidized with Russian money and followed 
blindly the dictates of the Czar and Czarina of Russia. 
The French faction was called " the party of the hats," 
and the Russian faction was known as '' the party of the 

251 



FAMOUS ASSASSINATIONS 

caps." These two factions fought each other most bit- 
terly, each charging the other with ahnost any crime com- 
mitted against divine and human law ; and both were 
right in the charge, because both were equally guilty. 
At the beginning of the war of the Austrian succession, 
France wanted to prevent Russia from siding with Aus- 
tria, and thought a war between Sweden and Russia 
would be the right thing to accomplish that object. The 
French Ambassador at Stockholm therefore ordered the 
" party of the hats " in the Reichsrath to declare war 
upon Russia, and a resolution to that effect prevailed 
against the violent and menacing protests of the " party 
of the caps." In great haste a Swedish army was re- 
cruited to take the field against the Russians in Finland; 
but since all the money sent by the French government 
for the proper equipment of that army had disappeared 
in the pockets of the members of the Reichsrath, the army 
was so poorly equipped and its war-material was of such 
inferior quality that it could not hold the field against the 
well-armed and well-equipped Russians, and suffered de- 
feat after defeat at their hands. The " caps " were jubi- 
lant over this discomfiture and humiliation of the " hats " 
and forced them into a treaty of peace with Russia, which 
was disgraceful to Sweden, but which would have been 
even more hurtful if the Russian Empress had not for 
personal reasons offered very mild terms of peace. But 
one of these terms was that Adolphus Frederick of 
Holstein-Gottorp, whose father had been so shamefully 
cheated out of the Swedish succession in 17 18, should 
be declared heir to the Swedish throne. The Reichsrath 
cheerfully accepted this condition, made all other con- 
cessions which the Russian Empress demanded, and 

2^2 



GUSTAVUS THE THIRD OF SWEDEN 

ceded a part of Finland to the Russian crown. Peace 
between the two countries was restored by the treaty of 
Abo in 1743. 

Conditions were not improved under the rule of the 
next King, — the said Adolphus Frederick of Holstein- 
Gottorp, who ascended the throne in 1751. The new 
King had married the younger sister of Frederick the 
Great of Prussia, but he had so little influence on the 
direction of the public policy of Sweden, both at home 
and abroad, that in the great European war which Fred- 
erick had to wage against the other powers, Sweden took 
sides against him by the dictation of the Reichsrath. In 
fact, the Reichsrath became more aggressive and arro- 
gant from year to year. It interfered in the education of 
the royal princes. It presumed to attach the King's sig- 
nature to public documents after he had refused twice to 
sign them. The " caps " made an effort to strengthen the 
King's authority by amending the constitution, but it 
failed, and resulted in a complete victory for the " hats." 
The " hats " had it all their own way for a while. Under 
orders from the French government, and also out of 
hatred and contempt for the King, they declared war on 
the King of Prussia, and Sweden was, without any cause 
or provocation, drawn into the terrible Seven Years' War, 
which resulted in the victory of Frederick the Great over 
all his enemies. 

This disastrous result of the war caused the temporary 
overthrow of the " hats." But the Russian faction, as 
soon as they had got control of the government, estab- 
lished a tyranny worse than that of their predecessors, 
so that the King, provoked to the utmost, threatened to 
resign and appeal to the people, unless a popular Diet 

253 



FAMOUS ASSASSINATIONS 

should be called to establish the rights of the crown on 
a firm and more dignified basis. Under the strong pres- 
sure of public indignation the Diet was called ; it re- 
stored to the crown part of the rights and prerogatives 
annulled by the Reichsrath and dismissed a number of 
those officials most hostile and objectionable to the King; 
but a proposition of the young, ingenious and ambitious 
Crown Prince — to change the constitution thoroughly, 
to reestablish autocratic government in Sweden in order 
to renew an era of glory and prosperity for the unfor- 
tunate country — failed through the irresoluteness of the 
King. In 1771 the King died, and the Crown Prince 
ascended the throne under the name of Gustavus the 
Third. 

The Crown Prince was at Paris, where he was paying 
the court a visit, when his father died. His presence 
in the French capital and his conversations with Choiseul, 
the able prime minister of Louis the Fifteenth, had 
strengthened and confirmed his own personal views about 
the necessity for a change in the government of Sweden 
and for a return to an absolutistic regime. He formally 
renewed the secret alliance between Sweden and France, 
receiving the promise of liberal subsidies from the French 
treasury in order to enable him to carry out his plans. He 
took with him to Sweden a large sum of money, which 
was, so to speak, the first instalment of the new subsidy. 
Moreover, Choiseul gave the young King, on his return 
trip to Sweden, an experienced and sagacious companion 
and adviser in the person of Count de Vergennes, who 
nominally was to take charge of the French embassy at 
Stockholm, but who in reality was to guide and assist Gus- 
tavus in his attempt to overthrow the constitution of the 

254 



GUSTAVUS THE THIRD OF SWEDEN 

monarchy and to restore the absolute regime of former 
days. The personaUty of Gustavus the Third was pecu- 
harly fitted for the role which he was to play in the great 
drama of a political revolution. He was young, enthusias- 
tic, talented, eloquent, bold and chivalrous ; he was a poet 
of considerable ability, and his political ideal was Louis 
the Fourteenth of France, whose majestic declaration : 
"The state? I am the state!" struck a sympathetic 
chord in his heart. Choiseul had found it an easy task 
to change the vague aspirations and dreams in the young 
King's mind into a fixed determination to put an end to 
the oligarchic regime of the nobility and to reestablish 
absolute monarchy in its pristine glory. The art of dis- 
simulation, of which he was a consummate master, and 
which he had practised with great success as Crown 
Prince in order to throw his instructors, who were mere 
tools of the Reichsrath, ofif their guard, served him ad- 
mirably in perfecting the initiatory steps, and finally, 
when the proper time had come, for the successful exe- 
cution of his coup d'etat. 

When Gustavus arrived at Stockholm, he found the 
Swedish Reichstag (the Diet) in session. It had recog- 
nized him, during his absence, as King, but the members 
were busily engaged in the discussion of a new consti- 
tution, which they insisted would be necessary for pro- 
tecting the rights of the nobility against the usurpation 
of the King. The rights of the people and the preroga- 
tives of the King were hardly thought of in this dis- 
cussion, and the people were disgusted with the whole 
proceeding. So was the King, but he had shrewdness 
and self-control enough not to interfere with the work 
of the Diet ; and when, after a hard-fought battle of 

255 



FAMOUS ASSASSINATIONS 

eight months' duration between the contending factions 
of the " hats " and the " caps," the new constitution was 
finally completed and submitted to him for his signature, 
he readily signed it, without reading it, explaining his 
extraordinary readiness with the words " I have confi- 
dence enough in the patriotism and wisdom of the Reichs- 
tag to believe that they all have worked for the welfare 
of the state, and that my own rights were safe in their 
hands." 

In order to make this rather strange indifference on 
his part appear quite natural, he had lived most of the 
time at his country-seat, at some distance from Stockholm, 
surrounded by a few literary friends and writing come- 
dies and poems, without paying the least attention to the 
political work going on at the capital. He came but 
rarely to Stockholm, but whenever he went, he took 
good care to insinuate himself into the good graces of 
the people. His natural eloquence and the fact that he 
was born in Sweden and spoke the Swedish language 
correctly, as well as his pleasant and affable manners, 
made him immensely popular with the common people, 
while at the same time his friends lost no opportunity 
to incite the people, and also the soldiery, against the 
nobility, whom they charged with having caused all the 
miseries from which the State, and especially the rural 
population, were suffering. Poor crops and great finan- 
cial distress added to the popular dissatisfaction, and the 
royalist party did not fail to attribute these public calami- 
ties to the aristocracy's injudicious administration ; thus 
the people were thoroughly aroused for the impending 
battle between King and nobility. 

In the Reichsrath the faction of the " caps " had suc- 
256 



GUSTAVUS THE THIRD OF SWEDEN 

ceeded in utterly defeating the faction of the " hats," and 
driving all their adherents out of the public offices. 
The official slaughter and persecution of the " hats " was 
carried on so recklessly and injudiciously by the " caps " 
that even the Russian ambassador protested against their 
imprudence, which, he was afraid, might lead to a revolu- 
tion that would overthrow both factions and place abso- 
lute power in the hands of the monarch. But the " caps," 
in the intoxication of their victory, were too blind to see 
the danger; moreover, they felt absolutely safe because 
the King had sworn to obey and uphold the constitution, 
and the constitution deprived him of all power of action. 
Gustavus had so fully duped them that not even a sus- 
picion of foul play arose in their minds. With masterly 
dissimulation and with marvellous strength of mind he 
waited in apparent indifference until the proper moment 
for action had come. His friends, however, had been very 
busy. They had won one hundred and fifty of the higher 
officers of the Stockholm garrison over to the King's 
cause, and this acquisition placed practically the entire 
military power of the capital under his orders. 

It had been arranged, however, that the first outbreak 
should not occur at Stockholm, but in another city. In 
compliance with this programme Captain Hellichius, a 
devoted friend of the King, and Commandant of the gar- 
rison of Christianstadt, on the twelfth of August, 1772, 
issued a manifesto, in which he fiercely denounced the 
pernicious administration of the Reichsrath, and called 
upon the inhabitants of Sweden to shake ofif the tyranny 
of the oligarchy which held both the King and the people 
in bondage. It had also been arranged that Prince Charles, 
the King's brother. Commander of the troops in Scania, 
17 257 



FAMOUS ASSASSINATIONS 

should immediately march, with the army under his com- 
mand, toward Christianstadt, ostensibly for the purpose 
of suppressing the revolt, but really for the purpose of 
swelling the ranks of the malcontents. When this news 
reached Stockholm, some of the members of the Reichs- 
rath suspected that the King was implicated, but he 
feigned absolute ignorance of the matter, and deceived 
his enemies so well that they left him alone. Prompt 
action on their part, in arresting and guarding the per- 
son of the King, would very likely have quelled the re- 
volt at the very outset. But the King was so powerless 
that he preferred to wait for news from Christianstadt 
announcing the success of the movement before resort- 
ing to active measures which might have caused the fail- 
ure of the whole plan. 

Only when th» Reichsrath ordered the troops of the 
whole country to be concentrated at the capital, and also 
ordered Prince Charles to turn over his command to a 
general who was strictly in sympathy with the existing 
condition of things, the King thought the time for him 
to act had come, and he hesitated no longer. It was the 
nineteenth of August, 1772, and Gustavus knew that that 
day was to decide not only the success or failure of his 
intended coup d'etat, but very likely also his life or 
death, his honor or disgrace. In taking the offensive so 
promptly, the King showed great personal bravery and 
courage, and made good his claim to be a God-given 
leader of men. At an early hour he went to the As- 
sembly Room, where the Reichsrath was already in ses- 
sion. At a glance he saw that the prevailing sentiment 
was hostile to him. No sooner had he taken his seat 
than one of the members in a rather insolent tone asked 

258 



GUSTAVUS THE THIRD OF SWEDEN 

him whether he had not received a letter during the night 
from Christianstadt, and on receiving an affirmative an- 
swer, demanded that the King should communicate the 
letter to the Reichsrath. The King refused to deliver the 
letter, stating that it was private, and expressed indigna- 
tion at the disrespectful request. A general murmur arose 
among the members, and voices were heard saying that it 
might be advisable to arrest the King. He hurriedly 
arose from his seat, and placing his hand on the hilt of 
his sword, as if ready to kill the first one who should 
stand in his way, he passed through the seats of the Sen- 
ators with head erect and haughty mien. 

None dared oppose him, and he proceeded directly to 
the armory, where two regiments of the Royal Guard 
were drawn up in line under the command of officers 
devoted to him. He addressed them in an eloquent 
speech, promising to restore the kingdom to its previous 
proud position among the nations and make the army 
again a source of honor to the Swedes and of terror 
to its enemies, such as it had been in the great days of 
Gustavus Adolphus. The officers and the men cheered 
him enthusiastically, and declared they would follow him 
to death or wherever he would lead them. Not only the 
soldiers in the city, but thousands of armed citizens gath- 
ered around him shouting, " Down with the nobility ! 
Down with the Reichsrath ! Long live the King ! " He 
mounted his horse and at the head of this enthusiastic 
army proceeded to the State House, where the Reichsrath 
was still in session, devising means to bring the King to 
terms. The troops were so placed as to make it impos- 
sible for the members of the Reichsrath to leave the build- 
ing. The King, flushed with the excitement of victory, 

259 



FAMOUS ASSASSINATIONS 

with his flashing sword drawn, and surrounded by a few 
of the most popular officers and citizens, rode through the 
streets, harangued the people on the public squares, and 
carried them away by his eloquence and chivalrous ap- 
pearance. It was a personal triumph, which he relished 
to its fullest extent, and which gave assurance of the 
complete success of his plans for constitutional reform. 

The revolution which Gustavus the Third had inaugu- 
rated so boldly at Stockholm proved a complete success. 
The common people flocked to him in great numbers ; the 
women and girls offered him flowers and bouquets, and 
threw kisses to him ; the men knelt down and, with tears 
of joy in their eyes, kissed his boots or his hands, blessing 
him as the savior of his country, and calling the blessings 
of Heaven down upon his head. Surrounded by thou- 
sands of enthusiastic adherents, he rode to the City Hall, 
where the municipal authorities were already assembled, 
and received from them the assurance of their uncondi- 
tional allegiance and loyalty. The same ovation and en- 
thusiastic demonstration greeted him at the palace of the 
Board of Admiralty. Not a shot was fired, not a sword 
was drawn, not a drop of human blood was shed to over- 
come opposition to the royal plan of changing the gov- 
ernment and to end the rule of the nobility. Never before 
in history had a revolution been so quickly, so success- 
fully accomplished ; never before had a government in 
the full possession of all public powers been so suddenly 
and so successfully overthrown as in this instance. The 
coup d'etat was a masterstroke of public policy which 
gave Gustavus a wonderful prestige throughout Europe. 
Even the English and Russian ambassadors, who were 
most interested in the contemplated change of govern- 

260 



GUSTAVUS THE THIRD OF SWEDEN 

ment, and who might have raised obstacles to the King's 
autocratic action, were disarmed entirely by a courteous 
invitation to the royal palace, where they were entertained 
in the most pleasant manner until the whole excitement 
was over and Gustavus the Third in complete possession 
of the government. On the day following, the war de- 
partment and all the high state officials made haste to 
swear obedience to the King. The citizens of the capital 
were called together on the public square and the King 
addressed them again, this time in the full splendor of 
triumphant royalty and surrounded by all the high dig- 
nitaries of the kingdom, telling them, amid their enthu- 
siastic shouts and applause, that he considered it his 
greatest glory to be the first citizen of a free nation. He 
then took out of his pocket the new constitution prepared 
by him and read it to them in his clear and melodious 
voice. Renewed shouts and boisterous applause rewarded 
him when he had concluded. 

But the part most difficult for him remained to be done, 
— to get the assent of the States. They were convened 
for the next day, August 21, and in ordering them to ap- 
pear, the King had added that any member not appear- 
ing in his seat on that day would be treated as a traitor. 
During the night preceding the meeting of the States a 
strong detachment of soldiers and artillery was placed 
in a position commanding the State House. When the 
King appeared and sat down on the throne his eye looked 
upon a hall well filled. The most profound silence reigned 
when he got up and read the constitution in a clear and 
firm voice. He supplemented the reading with a very elo- 
quent and patriotic speech, in which he referred to the 
degradation and contempt to which the monarchy had 

261 



F A M O I' S A S S A S S 1 X A T I O X S 

been reduceii by the incai^aoiry, venality and corruption 
of the goveniinent and of tlie nobility. He painted tliis 
goveniinent and the dis^grace it had brought upon Swevlen 
in the darkest colors, and then added, in a voice trembling 
witli emotion: "If there is any one among you who thinks 
that I am misstating facts or exaggerating the disgraceful 
condition of our public affairs. I challenge him to con- 
tradict me, and to state here in the presence of all in what 
respect I have misrepresented the administration of the 
Reichsrath. I vow to God Almigluy that I shall devote 
all my energy- to tlie task of restoring the welfare of my 
beloved countn.- and the happiness of its inhabitants, and 
I know of no otlier way to accomplish these results than 
by the changie of the constitution as I have read it to 
\-ou." Then turning to the meiubers individually, he 
asked whether they were in favor of sanctioning the pro- 
posed change. They all answered in the affinnative and 
swore the oath of allegriance. Thereupon the King drew 
from his pocket a h\-mn-book, and remoNnng the crown 
from his head, he began to sing the " Te Deum Lauda- 
mus,'" in whidi they all joined him. Gusta\ais had won 
ag^in in the most perilous stage of the dangerous game 
he was pla'dng. 

The new constitution which had been adopted rein- 
stated the King in all those rights and prerogatives which 
his ancestors had possessed up to the death of Charles 
tlie Twelfth. He was tlie commander of the anny and 
navy: the revenues of the state were to be under his 
exclusi\*e care : he disposed arbitrarily of all offices, ci^^l 
and militar\- ; he alone had the riglit to negotiate treaties 
and alliances : he had unlimited power to conduct a war 
of defence, but for foreign w^rs he needed the consent of 

262 



GUSTAVUS THE TJIfKD OF SWEDEN 

the States; lie alone had the right to convene the Con- 
gress, and the Congress was not to transact other business 
than was submitted to it by the crown ; the Reich srath 
was subordinate to the King ; it became merely an advi- 
sory board, and its decisions were not of binding force. 
It was a constitution which the Emperor of Russia might 
have subscribed to. 

While Gustavus had, by his boldness and eloquence, 
secured the success of his coup d'etat at Stockholm, his 
brothers travelled through the different provinces, pro- 
mulgated the new constitution, and were everywhere 
welcomed enthusiastically. Gustavus himself made .dur- 
ing the winter months of the same year the traditional 
tour of the old kings through the kingdom even to the 
farthest borders of Norway — the old riksgata — and ex- 
actly in the same manner as the old kings had done — on 
horseback. Wherever he went he was only escorted by 
the inhabitants of the neighborhood, whom he delighted 
by his affability, his nobility of soul and his eloquence. 
He seemed to have no enemies and needed no soldiers to 
protect him. These were the golden days of his reign. 
The two parties which had so bitterly fought for suprem- 
acy had been wiped out by his victory. The " hats " and 
the " caps " were heard of no more, and Sweden seemed 
to be in a fair way of entering upon a new era of great- 
ness and prosperity. 

Tempting as the task may be for the historian to go 
into the details of the life of the extraordinary man who, 
endowed by nature with talents of a high order, rose to 
the heights of human glory and then abruptly fell by 
reason of his own folly, we must forego this pleasure 
and confine ourselves to a rapid sketch of the events 

263 



FAMOUS ASSASSINATIONS 

which led Gustavus the Third slowly to the terrible 
tragedy of his assassination. It would seem almost in- 
credible that a prince so popular and so idolized by his 
people as Gustavus was on the morning of his coup d'etat 
could in the course of a few years so utterly lose the con- 
fidence of his people and forfeit their love as to make the 
execution of the conspiracy against his life even possible. 
But it must be admitted that this loss of popularity and 
esteem was, in part at least, caused by grave faults of the 
King, which, with reckless audacity, he committed again 
and again, while the general loss of royal prestige and 
authority throughout Europe as a consequence of the 
French Revolution of 1789 had also a great deal to do 
with it. 

During the first years after the coup d'etat general sat- 
isfaction seemed to prevail throughout the country ; the 
common people felt relieved of many unnecessary bur- 
dens, while the nobility, who had been so utterly routed, 
kept silent in the consciousness of their weakness. Many 
measures of reform, calculated to promote the national 
prosperity, were initiated by the personal agency of the 
King. The currency, which was in a deplorable condi- 
tion, was put on a sounder basis ; many benevolent in- 
stitutions — hospitals, orphan asylums, poor-houses, etc. 
— were established ; the public highways were improved ; 
large canals connecting with the seacoast the mines of the 
kingdom (which were among its moSt important indus- 
tries) were constructed; trade and industry were assisted 
according to the prevailing theories of those times ; free 
trade, both at home and with foreign countries, was es- 
tablished ; privileges and franchises which oppressed the 
people at large for the benefit of the few were abolished; 

264 



GUSTAVUS THE THIRD OF SWEDEN 

both the criminal and the civil code of laws were revised 
and improved ; strict impartiality in the application of 
laws and in the punishment of criminals was insisted 
upon ; the torture, which up to that time had played an 
important part in criminal trials, was done away with, 
and a more humane treatment of convicts was introduced 
in prisons and penitentiaries. Gustavus was in this re- 
spect a disciple of Montesquieu and Beccaria. His great 
ambition was also to renew the ties of friendship and 
brotherhood between Finland and Sweden, and in order 
to do so, he personally visited Finland, and established 
there a number of valuable reforms which are gratefully 
remembered by that unfortunate country to the present 
day. 

But highly commendable and worthy of admiration as 
the young King's action was in these and many other re- 
spects, the defects of his character soon appeared, and 
gave his enemies an opportunity to undermine his work 
and his popularity. He lacked steadiness and firmness 
of purpose. He wanted to see and enjoy immediately the 
beneficent results of his reforms. Many of them were 
therefore abandoned before they had had time for full 
development ; many very costly undertakings were dis- 
continued because the King had either changed his mind 
or was tired of waiting. And then, he was extravagant 
in his personal expenses and in arranging grand court 
entertainments fashioned on the brilliant festivities of 
the French court at Versailles, which remained his model 
in all matters of court etiquette and royal display. Like 
Frederick the Great, to whom Gustavus the Third bears 
in many respects a striking resemblance, although he 
lacked the great Prussian's military genius and wise 

265 



FAMOUS ASSASSINATIONS 

frugality, he was fond of French hterature and art, and 
made strenuous efforts to give them a supreme place in 
the educational institutions of the kingdom. The national 
genius of the Swedish people and language were conse- 
quently relegated to a secondary place. To make up for 
the unpopularity and protests which these efforts caused 
among the people, he devised a national costume for all 
the inhabitants ; but in this attempt he failed entirely. 
The costume he had devised was copied from an ancient 
Spanish one, and utterly unsuitable for a northern coun- 
try of short summers and severe winters. The King's 
ordinances introducing these Spanish garments were 
openly disobeyed and laughed at. People began to look 
on him as a dreamer, and lost their respect for him. 

But that which more than anything else hurt his popu- 
larity was the way in which he treated the liquor question. 
The mass of the Swedish people were strongly addicted 
to the excessive use of intoxicating liquors. The vice had 
assumed such proportions that measures of reform were 
urgently called for. But, with the usual impracticability 
of temperance reformers, Gustavus managed the matter 
so unskilfully that, instead of correcting the abuse, he 
made himself highly unpopular and aroused the most 
stubborn resistance to his reform policy. He had issued 
an edict prohibiting the manufacture and use of distilled 
liquors, but he found it impossible to enforce the edict : 
the peasants and farmers, who had been distilling their 
own whiskey, simply ignored it, while in a number of 
cities where distilleries were maintained for the manu- 
facture and sale of the liquor, regular battles were fought 
between the police trying to suppress them, and the in- 
habitants enraged at the attempt to close them. Gus- 

266 



GUSTAVUS THE THIRD OF SWEDEN 

tavus then repealed the edict and introduced a new 
system, which he hoped would at once diminish the vice 
of drunkenness and replenish his treasury, which was 
in a chronic state of exhaustion. He made the right 
of manufacturing and selling alcoholic liquors a crown 
monopoly, and established agencies for the sale of these 
liquors in all large and small cities and towns of the 
kingdom. But the peasants were not satisfied with this 
arrangement either. The whiskey they were to buy at 
the agencies was much dearer than their own home-dis- 
tilled beverage ; moreover, the towns and cities, at that 
time only thinly scattered over Sweden, were often so 
remote from the farms, and the roads leading to them 
were often in such an impassable condition that the pur- 
chase of whiskey was a difficult matter for the rural pop- 
ulation. The clandestine and illicit manufacture of the 
beverage was carried on therefore as it had been before. 
But the very name of the King became odious to the 
people. They contemptuously called him " a crank, a 
visionary and a poet.'' Writing poetry, in which Gus- 
tavus excelled, was in their eyes a symptom of folly and 
madness. 

The hostility of the nobles and their rebellious spirit, 
which had been overawed and silenced for some years 
by the great personal popularity of the King, reappeared 
and gained ground with the disaffection of the people, 
and especially of the rural population. For a King like 
Gustavus the Third, ambitious and high-spirited, military 
glory had a tempting attraction, and he had commenced 
soon after his successful coup d'etat to prepare for win- 
ning it. The army was in a really deplorable condition 
at the time of his accession to the throne, being entirely 

267 



FAMOUS ASSASSINATIONS 

without artillery and deficient in equipment. Gustavus 
lost no time in remedying these defects. He modelled 
the Swedish army after the Prussian army as reorgan- 
ized by Frederick the Great, which was then considered 
the finest and best equipped in Europe, and within two 
years he had made it, with its splendid personnel and its 
modern material, a formidable machine of war, which, 
under the leadership of a military genius, might have 
renewed the great days of Gustavus Adolphus or Charles 
the Twelfth. But it was the ambition of Gustavus the 
Third to command the army himself, and he was not a 
military genius. He declared war upon Russia, with the 
intention of recovering the lost provinces of Finland, and 
proceeded to Finland himself in order to take command 
of the invading army. 

It was there that the first misfortune overtook him. 
After a few engagements, — rather skirmishes than bat- 
tles, — in which the Swedes were victorious, the King 
decided to invest or take by assault the small fortress of 
Frederickshamm. It would have been better for him if 
he had marched directly upon Petersburg, which was not 
in a condition to resist an immediate attack of a superior 
army. If he had done so, very likely the Esths, first 
cousins of the Finns, and anxious to shake off the yoke 
of Russia, would have joined him and would have placed 
him in possession of the Russian borderland ; but Gus- 
tavus frittered away the time and by his inactivity en- 
abled the commanders of his own regiments (generally 
appointed from the ranks of the high nobility) to or- 
ganize a conspiracy against him and virtually drive him 
from the field. Very likely bribed with Russian gold, 
they jointly issued a manifesto that Gustavus had vio- 

268 



GUSTAVUS THE THIRD OF SWEDEN 

lated the constitution of Sweden by declaring war upon 
Russia without the consent of the Reichsrath, and they 
were therefore not bound to obey him in this criminal 
undertaking. They also used their influence on the other 
officers and on the soldiers of their regiments, and made 
them rebellious against the King's commands. In vain 
Gustavus implored them not to abandon him and the 
cause of their country ; but they were deaf to his prayers 
and to his threats, and he left the army as a humiliated 
and disgraced commander. 

Upon his return to Stockholm, he made a journey 
through Dalecarlia, the province in which his ancestor 
Gustavus Vasa had found the followers who raised him 
to the throne ; he used his extraordinary eloquence so 
successfully that the people again rallied round him. 
They swore to stand by him in his struggle against 
Russia, and not to lay down arms until a peace honor- 
able to Sweden could be secured. Gustavus then con- 
vened the Reichstag for the twenty-sixth of January, 1789, 
in order to get authority to continue the war and restore 
his kingly prerogatives, which by the revolt of the army 
had been so signally impaired. The nobility at last openly 
threw off the mask ; but they were overpowered by the 
three other estates, who would rather strengthen the 
King's authority than return to their former condition 
of bondage under the regime of a corrupt and arrogant 
nobility. The Reichstag therefore fully sustained the 
King's action, taking the view that the offensive war 
against Russia was really a war of defence. 

Sufficient appropriations were made to carry on the 
war to a successful end, and thirty prominent members 
of the nobility were indicted for treason and lese majeste, 

269 



FAMOUS ASSASSINATIONS 

and punished severely. At the same time an important 
revision of the constitution was made in the interest of 
the King, and, in spite of the violent protests of the 
nobility, his prerogatives were largely extended. The 
Reichsrath was entirely abolished, and the King author- 
ized to declare war on other countries whenever war was 
deemed advisable to protect the interests of the country. 
He also obtained the absolute right to appoint all mili- 
tary and civil officers, while formerly many of these 
appointments had to be confirmed by the Reichsrath. 
After having thus secured the rights of the crown at 
home, Gustavus departed again for the seat of war, with 
new regiments and new commanders. Russia had also 
strengthened herself, and what might at first have been 
an easy undertaking, and might have led to a brilliant 
success, was now a very serious one, and one of very 
uncertain chances of success. It soon became evident 
that the results of the war would depend on the naval 
supremacy of either of the two powers, and all eflforts 
were therefore directed on both sides toward strengthen- 
ing their navies. 

Several big naval battles were fought, and in all of 
them the King, who personally commanded his fleet, 
performed wonders of valor. The last of these battles 
was that of Swenskasund on the ninth of July, 1790; and 
the King, who fought with the bravery of despair be- 
cause the fleet of the Russians was considerably superior 
in numbers to his own, won a brilliant victory. No 
less than fifty-nine Russian warships, carrying altogether 
six hundred and forty-three guns, fell into the hands of 
the Swedes. But even more than this great material suc- 
cess was the prestige which Gustavus derived from the 

270 



GUSTAVUS THE THIRD OF SWEDEN 

victory. He was tired of the war, and he could now as 
a victorious hero offer terms of peace, honorable and ad- 
vantageous to his country, instead of humbly accepting 
terms from Russia. On the fourteenth of August, 1790, 
a treaty of peace was concluded by which, while Sweden 
did not receive any territorial indemnity, she secured 
rights and trade privileges in the Baltic Sea which Russia 
until then had denied her. The honors of the war v/ere 
therefore on Sweden's side, and the King personally, for 
his unquestioned heroism, was entitled to a liberal share 
of them. 

On the other hand, the results of the war were disas- 
trous for the country, and the King was by his enemies, 
the nobility (who were more bitterly opposed to him than 
ever), held responsible for these disasters. The heavy 
expenditures for the war had necessitated extraordinary 
tax levies which were burdensome to the whole people, 
rich as well as poor, and these could not be abolished im- 
mediately on the termination of the war. The brilliant 
festivities, balls and entertainments, which greeted the 
King on his return to his capital, could not fully conceal 
the great distress and poverty of the people ; but with 
that levity which was a conspicuous feature of his char- 
acter and which gave him such a mental resemblance to 
Marie Antoinette, whom he greatly admired, he tried to 
forget in the intoxication of incessant amusements and 
pleasures the personal privations he had suffered during 
the war and the sorrows and wants of the nation. That 
this conduct, which he did not care to conceal from the 
public eye, irritated the people and filled many of those 
who had been his admirers with disgust and hatred may 
easily be imagined. But that by which he gave the great- 

271 



FAMOUS ASSASSINATIONS 

est blow to his popularity was his active and over-zealous 
sympathy in the misfortunes of Louis the Sixteenth and 
his Queen, Marie Antoinette, and his efforts to release 
them from captivity and save them from death. 

Gustavus showed his lack of political sagacity in es- 
tranging the very element upon which he had founded 
his autocratic power, — the great mass of the people. 
Their devotion had made it possible for him, not only 
to continue the war against Russia, but also to be more 
than a mere figure-head in the government of his king- 
dom. The support of the nobility he had lost beyond 
redemption. They hated him, and only hoped for oppor- 
tunities to humiliate him. All efforts on his part to rec- 
oncile them failed. His true policy should have been to 
ingratiate himself still more with the people, relieve their 
burdens, make the laws and institutions more liberal, 
and carry out the promise he had made to them, that 
he wanted to be clothed with supreme power in order to 
make the nation more happy and the country more pros- 
perous. But his character did not permit him to pursue 
this policy dictated by common-sense. The French Revo- 
lution had broken out, and the misfortunes of the French 
King and Queen enHsted his profound sympathy. He 
watched the progress of the revolution with eager in- 
terest, and when it became apparent that Louis could not 
master it, he formed the adventurous and fantastic plan 
of placing himself at the head of a large army, composed 
of contingents of all the European powers, and restor- 
ing absolute monarchy in France, as he had restored 
absolute monarchy in Sweden. In order to realize that 
dream which corresponded so well to his visionary, chiv- 
alrous, poetical temperament, he opened negotiations with 

272 



GUSTAVUS THE THIRD OF SWEDEN 

Russia, Prussia, Austria, and especially with the French 
emigres. These men had assembled in Germany and 
other countries waiting for an opportunity to return to 
France under the standards of some friendly power com- 
ing to the rescue of Louis the Sixteenth and monarchi- 
cal institutions. Gustavus had tried his best to assist the 
French King in his flight from Paris. It was a Swedish 
carriage, with Swedish attendants, which was to convey 
Louis the Sixteenth and the royal family beyond the 
borders of France, and which was so abruptly stopped 
at Varennes. After this attempt at flight had failed, 
Gustavus saw no other means of saving the monarchy 
— not only in France, but throughout Europe — than by 
making war upon the Jacobins, stamping out the Revo- 
lution in the blood of its adherents, and seating Louis 
the Sixteenth in the full glory of absolutism once more 
on the throne. The execution of this plan, he imagined, 
would immortalize him, and would make him in effect 
the dictator of Europe. 

The Reichstag of Gefle, which was opened January 25, 
1792, had already greatly disappointed and incensed him, 
because it had unanimously rejected his demand for an 
appropriation of ten million dollars which he needed for 
his new undertaking. The utter disregard of his wishes 
and the contempt with which his urgent appeals were 
ignored by the lower order, which had so firmly stood by 
him in the Reichstag of 1789, showed also his great un- 
popularity ; and the nobility thought that the time had 
come for striking a bold blow not only to get rid of him, 
but also to reinstate themselves in power. As we have 
seen, the moment was very opportune. The public debt 
was enormous ; the distress was general ; vague rumors 
18 273 



FAMOUS ASSASSINATIONS 

of another war, not against an enemy, but against the 
rights of the people, were in the air. Then the con- 
spiracy was formed. There were five principal con- 
spirators ; and they all belonged to the highest nobility. 
While some of them had personal grievances, not one of 
them would have thought of raising his hand against the 
King, unless a much more important object had been in 
view. These five were Ankarstrom, who had already 
been among the rebellious officers in Finland, Count Rib- 
bing, Count Horn, Count Liliehorn and Baron Pechlin. 

The mainspring of the conspiracy was the hope of 
overthrowing the autocratic system of government, and 
reinstating the nobility in all its prerogatives. At first 
the conspirators did not want to resort to murder, but 
they hoped to be able to abduct the King, compel him to 
resign, and then to extort from his successor the recog- 
nition of those rights and privileges of which Gustavus 
the Third had deprived them. Having made two or three 
attempts in that direction, they changed their plan, and 
concluded that the easiest and safest way to accomplish 
their aim would be to assassinate the King. 

Ankarstrom volunteered to shoot the King at one of 
the popular masked balls, which he was in the habit of 
visiting, and at which he freely mingled with the other 
visitors. Twice he failed to recognize Gustavus. But 
the last masquerade of the season at Stockholm was to 
come ofT on Friday, March i6, 1792, and Ankarstrom 
resolved to make a last effort to strike his victim. And 
he did, although Gustavus was warned that very even- 
ing by one of the conspirators (Count Liliehorn) that it 
would be dangerous for him to go to the ball, for an at- 
tempt would be made on his life. The ball was to come 

274 



GUSTAVUS THE THIRD OF SWEDEN 

off at the Grand Opera House, and an immense crowd 
was expected. Four of the conspirators — Pechlin, An- 
karstrom, Horn and Ribbing — took supper together, 
and afterwards went to the theatre. They wore black 
dominoes of a uniform pattern, to be able to recognize 
each other easily. On the other hand, Gustavus had 
taken supper with one of his closest friends, Count Essen, 
in a little private room arranged for his use at the theatre 
itself. During this supper, at ten o'clock in the evening, 
an anonymous letter was handed to him, written in French 
and with a lead pencil. The author revealed the whole 
plot, which, as he asserted, he had learned only during the 
afternoon. He implored the King not to go to the ball, 
and to change his conduct and his policy if he wanted to 
escape assassination. He confessed having opposed the 
King's autocratic measures and his coup d'etat, which he 
considered illegal and unconstitutional. But, being a man 
of honor, as he said, the very idea of murder was horrid 
to him, and he therefore again implored the King to keep 
away from the ball. This note came from Count Lilie- 
horn. Gustavus read it tv/ice very attentively ; but he 
did not say a word about its contents. He quietly com- 
pleted his supper and then, accompanied by Count Essen, 
he proceeded to his box, where he was plainly to be seen 
by all. It was then only that he showed the note to his 
companion, who also implored him not to go on the floor 
among the dancers. Gustavus said he would hereafter 
put on a coat of mail before going to such places of 
amusement, but he insisted on going on the floor. They 
thereupon left the box, put on light dominoes and de- 
scended to the floor, which was crowded with a throng 
of brilliant, gay and grotesque masks. 

275 



FAMOUS ASSASSINATIONS 

The King had taken Essen's arm, and while passing 
through the stage scenery said to him : " Now let us see 
whether they '11 dare attack me ! " Although he wore a 
face-mask, the dancers whispered to each other: " There 
is the King! " Gustavus made the tour of the ball-room 
without stopping; then he stepped into the green-room 
in order to rest a moment ; but on leaving, he found him- 
self surrounded by a group of black dominoes, one of 
whom (it was Count Horn) laid his hand on the King's 
shoulder, saying: "Good-evening, my beautiful masquer- 
ader ! " These words were the signal. At the same 
moment Ankarstrom fired a shot from his pistol, which 
had been wrapped up in raw wool in order to weaken 
the detonation, and the shot was heard by but a few 
persons. Gustavus exclaimed in a loud voice : "I am 
wounded ! Arrest the assassin ! " At the same time loud 
cries : " Fire ! Fire ! Leave the hall ! " resounded from 
different parts of the building, and a great confusion fol- 
lowed. In the panic there was a general rush toward the 
doors, and all the conspirators would have escaped, but 
for the presence of mind of Count Armfeld, who ordered 
the doors to be closed, and assuring the tumultuous crowd 
that there was no fire, but that a great crime had been 
committed, ordered all the dancers and visitors to take 
off their masks. The conspirators nevertheless managed 
to escape immediate discovery by their very audacity, 
although they attracted attention and suspicion. As he 
passed through the door, Ankarstrom with a haughty 
smile said to the officer : " I hope you do not suspect 
me?" "On the contrary," replied the officer, "I am 
sure you are the assassin ! " but before he could stop him, 
Ankarstrom had passed out. He was, however, arrested 

276 



GUSTAVUS THE THIRD OF SWEDEN 

the next morning, and also Liliehorn, who had sent the 
anonymous note to the King. Counts Horn and Ribbing 
were arrested a few days later, and Baron Pechlin some 
time afterwards. 

Gustavus the Third was the only one who had kept 
his presence of mind during the tremendous confusion. 
Essen, covered with the King's blood, had rather car- 
ried than conducted him first to one of the private boxes 
and thence to a small adjoining parlor with a sofa, where 
he could lie down. The King was the one who directed 
what measures were to be taken in the grave situation. 
He ordered the gates of the city to be closed and the 
Duke of Sodermanland to be sent for. As soon as the 
surgeons had applied the necessary bandages, he was 
conveyed to the royal palace, and issued, with perfect 
self-command, orders for the appointment of those offi- 
cials who during his illness should conduct the affairs 
of the kingdom. The King himself ascribed the assault 
to the influence of the Jacobins of Paris, and the mur- 
derers eagerly circulated this rumor, in order to mislead 
public opinion. However, after Ankarstrom had been 
arrested and made a confession, there could no longer be 
any doubt as to the motives which were at the bottom of 
the conspiracy. Public opinion took the cue immediately. 

From the very moment of the assassination the people 
of Stockholm seemed to be delirious with grief. During 
the thirteen days of his agony all the King's mistakes 
and faults, which quite recently had been magnified into 
crimes and atrocities, were forgotten ; there was but one 
voice of sympathy and affection for him and of condem- 
nation for his assassins. All the good and chivalrous 
qualities of Gustavus reappeared during the illness pre- 

2TJ 



FAMOUS ASSASSINATIONS 

ceding his death. When the public indignation threat- 
ened the families of the conspirators, he immediately 
began to plead eloquently for them and wished them to 
be protected. When delegations of the municipalities of 
Stockholm and other cities were admitted to his pres- 
ence to assure him of the unfaltering loyalty of their 
cities to him and the royal family, he shed tears of grati- 
tude, and told them that such proofs of loyalty were not 
too dearly purchased at the price of a serious and pos- 
sibly fatal wound. When old Count Brahe, one of the 
leaders of the opposition in the Reichstag, knelt down at 
his bedside and swore to him that he was a stranger to 
the conspiracy and condemned it with horror, Gustavus 
raised him to his feet and embraced him, weak as he was, 
and told him with tearful eyes that he blessed his wound, 
because it had reconciled him with a friend so valued and 
noble-hearted. When his brother showed him a list of 
all those who had been ferreted out as accessories to the 
crime, he refused to look at it, and implored his brother 
to destroy it so that no further bloodshed might result. 
When some one in his presence swore bloody vengeance 
on the conspirators, he interfered in their behalf, adding : 
" If Ankarstrom is to die, then let there be mercy at 
least for the others ! One victim is enough ! " At first 
it looked as though he would get well. His conversation, 
fluent and logical, at times even brilliant and eloquent, 
was taken as proof that his vitality had not been ex- 
hausted, and that his excellent constitution would carry 
him safely through this terrible ordeal. But late on the 
twelfth day after the assault, he grew worse, and began 
to sink rapidly. The change came so suddenly that even 
the physicians were surprised, and suspected foul play. 

278 



GUSTAVUS THE THIRD OF SWEDEN 

But nothing has ever come to Hght to give confirmation 
to that suspicion. 

Thus ended, most sadly and prematurely, one of the 
most brilliant careers of the eighteenth century, — that 
of a man of splendid attainments, who lacked perhaps 
depth, and certainly application, to become one of the 
greatest men of his age and century ; a man of noble, 
chivalrous character, who had placed his ideals of human 
greatness unfortunately in the splendid and brilliant out- 
side of things instead of their solid, substantial and im- 
perishable worth. 



279 



CHAPTER XVIII 
JEAN PAUL MARAT 




JEAN PAUL MARAT 



CHAPTER XVIII 

ASSASSINATION OF JEAN PAUL MARAT 
(July 13, 1793) 

IN the letter of farewell which Charlotte Corday, from 
her prison cell as a doomed murderess, addressed to 
her father, she used the phrase (the French words are a 
well-known verse from a famous tragedy) : 

" 'Tis not the scaffold, but the crime, that brings disgrace " ; 

for she still adhered to the belief that in killing Marat 
she had not committed a crime, but an act of patriotic 
devotion for which posterity would honor her, and his- 
tory would place her name among the benefactors of 
mankind. In this belief she was more than half right, 
for in the long list of political crimes and assassinations 
there is not one which has been so willingly condoned 
by the world, so eloquently defended by historians, so 
enthusiastically immortalized by poets, and so leniently 
criticised even by moralists as that of Charlotte Corday. 
In her defence the law of heredity has been invoked, for 
it has been maintained that Charlotte Corday, who was 
a great-grandniece of the great Corneille, had inherited 
those sublime patriotic and republican sentiments which 
the great tragic poet so often and so eloquently expresses 
in his dramatic poems. In fact everything has been done 

283 



FAMOUS ASSASSINATIONS 

to surround her crime with the halo of martyrdom, and 
to secure for her the glory of a national heroine. 

It was in the middle of the year 1793. The French 
Revolution had reached that turning-point when the 
Revolutionists had almost exhausted their fury against 
the Royalists, and engaged in factional fights among 
themselves, always ending in the execution of the mem- 
bers of the vanquished party. The National Assembly 
— transformed into the National Convention — was 
under the absolute control of the Jacobins, and Marat, 
Danton and Robespierre were the absolute rulers of 
Paris and consequently of France. The King had been 
guillotined, the Queen and the other members of the 
royal family were imprisoned, and their execution was 
only a question of time. An insane craving for blood 
seemed to have taken possession of the men who were 
guiding the destinies of France. Danton, by far the 
most gifted of these Jacobins, had forever sullied his 
name as the author of the " September Massacres " ; 
but far more odious was Marat, " the friend of the 
people," the blood-thirsty demon of the Revolution, who 
quite seriously demanded, in the paper of which he was 
the editor and publisher, that two hundred thousand 
persons should be guillotined to purify the aristocratic 
atmosphere of France. 

The powerful party of the Girondists, who were dis- 
tinguished by a certain degree of moderation and had 
been a sort of counterpoise in the Convention to the 
Jacobins, had not only been defeated, but had been ac- 
tually driven out of the Convention and been branded 
as traitors and enemies to the Republic. With Marat, 
Robespierre and Danton in the absolute and unrestrained 

284 



JEAN PAUL MARAT 

possession of power, the destruction and execution of 
the Girondists was therefore only a question of time, — 
of months, weeks, perhaps only of days, — and most of 
them fled from Paris, seeking refuge in those parts of 
France which were known to be strongly attached to the 
moderate views of the defeated party. Normandy was 
one of these provinces, and in its ancient towns and vil- 
lages quite a number of the proscribed leaders of the 
Girondist party — Buzot, Petion, Barbaroux, Louvet and 
others — appeared with the outspoken intention of arous- 
ing the population and inducing them to march against 
Paris. There had been great excitement before their 
arrival. The enemies of the Terrorists were in a large 
majority, and had been active in organizing, equipping, 
and drilling an army, and General Wimpfen, the com- 
mandant at Cherbourg, was bold and imprudent enough 
to announce that he would march upon Paris with an 
army of sixty thousand men. 

At that time there lived at Caen in Normandy a young 
girl of noble descent, very beautiful and ingenious, but 
poor. Her name was Charlotte Corday, or rather Marie 
Anna Charlotte Corday ; she lived at Caen in the house 
of her aunt, Madame de Bretteville. Charlotte was the 
daughter of Monsieur de Corday d'Armans, and a great- 
grandniece of Pierre Corneille, the greatest of the tragic 
poets of France. The statement that she was the great- 
granddaughter of the poet is erroneous. She was the 
great-granddaughter of Marie Corneille, the only sister of 
Pierre Corneille, whose daughter married Adrian Corday, 
Baron of Cauvigny. This lineage makes the claim of 
heredity for Charlotte's sublime character, which is so 
often insisted on, rather fanciful, especially since no other 

285 



FAMOUS ASSASSINATIONS 

members of the great poet's family have manifested these 
characteristics. Charlotte had a sister and two brothers, 
who had left their father's house after he married his 
second wife. Her two brothers went to Germany to take 
service in the army of the Prince of Conde in his cam- 
paign against the French Revolutionists. 

Charlotte had been placed in a convent at Caen when 
only twelve years of age, and being naturally contem- 
plative, the retirement and silence of the convent made 
her even more so. She abandoned herself entirely to 
those vague dreams and exaltations which so often fill 
the minds and souls of young girls on the threshold of 
womanhood. Especially the proud, exalted, grandiose 
heroines, whom her great-granduncle had immortalized 
in his tragedies, Cinna, Horace, Polyeucte, Le Cid, made 
a profound impression upon her, and she learned the 
most beautiful passages by heart. Her very education 
seemed to prepare her for the great historic role which 
she was to play some ten or twelve years later. At the 
age of seventeen or eighteen she left the convent and was 
kindly received in the house of Madame de Bretteville. 
Her mind was filled with the exalted sentiments of Cor- 
neille and Plutarch, whom she read and reread with 
great delight. Her soul was restless at the sight of the in- 
creasing agitation against the corruption of the aristo- 
cratic classes and of the profound misery and degrada- 
tion of the poor. The house of Madame de Bretteville 
was one of those sombre, sad-looking, narrow residences 
which are still found occasionally in the silent and sleepy 
streets of old Norman towns, and well adapted to the 
stern and dreamy character of Charlotte. In the rear of 
the house there was a garden, surrounded by high walls, 

286 



JEAN PAUL MARAT 

and this garden became the favorite spot of Charlotte 
in her readings and studies. Her extraordinary beauty, 
which consisted as much in the classical cast of her 
features, her dazzling complexion, her magnificent eyes, 
as in the intellectual expression of her countenance and 
her queenlike bearing, had fully unfolded itself in the 
quietude of her home. 

Those who have found in books the greatest joys and 
pleasures of their lives know what an immense enthu- 
siasm, what an ardent and insatiable curiosity fills the 
soul when circumstances permit them to explore the vast 
field of human thought and inspiration and to dive into 
its treasury. Madame de Bretteville's Hbrary was well 
filled with translations of the great classics of Greece 
and Rome, and also with the works of Voltaire, Rous- 
seau, Montesquieu and other modern writers. These 
became the favorite study of Charlotte. One of her 
greatest favorites was Raynal, whose famous History of 
the two Indies had just appeared and filled Europe with 
admiration. Very likely that which appealed so strongly 
to Charlotte's heart was the sympathy which the author 
felt for the oppressed races, and especially for the black 
slaves. With untiring zeal and passion she devoured 
everything in her aunt's library, — novels, history, phi- 
losophy, — and these studies finally led her to politics, 
which engaged at that time the minds of the foremost 
writers of France and became the favorite subject of 
public and private discussion. In this way two parallel 
currents of ideas had formed themselves in Charlotte's 
mind, — on the one hand, a powerful desire for greater 
liberty and the elevation of the oppressed and degraded ; 
on the other hand, a profound admiration for those who 

287 



FAMOUS ASSASSINATIONS 

devote and sacrifice themselves to the great cause of 
humanity, and a vague but ardent desire to adorn her 
name with the halo of heroism and immortality. Left 
entirely to the instincts and aspirations of her own na- 
ture, the young royalist (for her entire family was 
strictly royalistic) had become a republican, but a re- 
publican in the sense of Plutarch and Tacitus, nourished 
by the sentiments of Corneille and Rousseau. Nothing 
in her appearance indicated her enthusiastic and soul- 
devouring ambition to make herself the deliverer of her 
country from the terrible calamities which had recently 
befallen it. Her political studies had filled her, repub- 
lican though she was, with extreme disgust and hatred 
for the Terrorists, and especially for Marat, who seemed 
to be their inspiring genius. This was the general situa- 
tion and also the personal frame of mind of Charlotte 
Corday at the time the Girondists who had escaped from 
Paris came to Caen to organize armed resistance to the 
terrorism of the " Mountain." 

Charlotte Corday had zealously followed the reports 
in the newspapers she could get hold of concerning the 
situation at Paris, and her heart beat warmly for the 
cause of the Girondists. Like all others in the city she 
lived in, she believed that Marat was the secret spring 
that kept the entire machinery of the Revolution in mo- 
tion, that he was the head and soul of the anarchists and 
murderers, that he was the centre of all conspiracies, the 
originator of all crimes, and that, with him out of the 
way, peace and liberty would soon regain the ascendency, 
and a freer, nobler, greater France would arise from the 
ruins. With such convictions in her mind she attended 
the meetings of the Girondists, where appeals were made 

288 



JEAN PAUL MARAT 

to the citizens of Caen and all Normandy to enroll them- 
selves in the service of their country, of liberty, of hu- 
manity, against the tyrants at Paris. The impression 
which these meetings made upon her soul can hardly be 
described. For the first time she saw and heard the 
men she had read so much about, and whose patriotic 
utterances had so often found a loud echo in her own 
heart ; they were there, young, beautiful, enthusiastic, 
made doubly interesting by the ban of proscription which 
had exiled them from Paris; they were there with 
their inspiring eloquence and patriotic appeals, and in 
the tumultuous audience there was no one more fully 
enchanted and carried away than the young girl, the 
disciple of Plutarch and Rousseau. The words: "Coun- 
try!" "Duty!" "Public Welfare!" repeated again 
and again by the orators, were deeply engraved upon 
her impressionable heart. An extraordinary exaltation 
took possession of Charlotte's soul ; she aspired to a 
part as grand as that of these orators; she longed for 
a chance to devote herself to the holy cause of liberty 
and to suffer for it. 

These projects and aspirations remained mere vague 
dreams, until an event occurred which gave them definite 
shape. On the seventh of July the volunteers who were 
to march on Paris assembled on a large plain in the im- 
mediate vicinity of Caen. The plain was large enough 
to hold one hundred thousand men ; but only thirty 
volunteers appeared. General disappointment was vis- 
ible among the spectators ; but no one was more deeply 
affected than Charlotte Corday, who was also present. 
It seems that from that very sorrow there sprang up 
within her mind a project both heroic and terrible, — to 
19 289 



FAMOUS ASSASSINATIONS 

assassinate Marat, whose words had been most influen- 
tial in expelling- and proscribing the Girondists. To 
Charlotte's mind the cause of the Girondists was identi- 
cal with that of liberty, country, and justice. And how 
often in the past had a pure and blameless life sacrificed 
for a great cause appeased the wrath of Destiny ! She 
went home and requested an interview with the Girondist 
deputies. 

Charlotte Cor day was then twenty- four years old, but 
looked much younger. She was tall, and of beautiful 
proportions ; her complexion was of dazzling white- 
ness, her hair was blond, her luminous eyes of charm- 
ing sweetness, her nose finely cut, and her chin indicated 
firmness and determination. Her face was a perfect oval, 
and the total impression was that of perfect beauty. Both 
her smile and her voice were of angeUc sweetness. Char- 
lotte made a profound impression upon the deputies ; but 
they were not inclined to take her seriously. One day 
Petion came in while she was in conversation with Bar- 
baroux. "Ah, ah," said he, "there is the beautiful young 
aristocrat paying a visit to the Republicans." "You judge 
me wrongly," she replied, " but some day you will know 
who I am." 

The question has often been asked whether the Giron- 
dists put the dagger in Charlotte Corday's hand to assassi- 
nate Marat. The enemies of the Girondists persistently 
asserted this, but there is no evidence to that effect. 
Possibly in her two conversations with Barbaroux her 
determination to assassinate Marat, and not Danton or 
Robespierre, became confirmed by the intensity of hatred 
and contempt manifested for him by the famous Girondist 
leader. At all events, after these interviews she made 

290 



JEAN PAUL MARAT 

her preparations to go to Paris with great circumspection, 
and great tranquilHty of mind. A httle dressing-case, a 
night-gown and a volume of Plutarch's Lives, with some 
money, was all her baggage. But before going to Paris 
she proceeded to Argentan to bid her family farewell. 
Her father and her sister were living there, and she told 
them that she intended to go to England, and would 
remain there until the storm of the Revolution had blown 
over. She bade them farewell without showing an excess 
of emotion, but also without faintness, and then departed 
for Paris in the public stage-coach. 

During the journey, which at that period lasted two 
days, she appeared serene and happy ; no preoccupation 
seemed to disturb the tranquillity of her mind. Her 
fellow-travellers all fell in love with her and treated her 
with distinguished courtesy. One of them offered to 
marry her. Charlotte smiled, but refused politely. More- 
over they were all radical revolutionists, and swore by 
Danton, Robespierre and Marat. 

At Caen nobody had any idea of her plan. She had 
told her aunt she would go to Argentan and thence to 
England. She had always concealed her political views 
so carefully that nobody could have suspected her. 

She arrived at Paris on the forenoon of the eleventh of 
July, and put up at the Providence Hotel. Tired out by 
the long and tedious journey, she went to bed early in 
the afternoon and slept well till the next morning. No 
conscientious scruples disturbed her. Her mind was fully 
made up, and she did not for a minute hesitate to exe- 
cute her project. The next morning she went to the 
Palais Royal, purchased a strong and sharp steel knife» 

291 



FA M O I" S A S S A S S I \ A T 1 X S 

and carefully hid it in her bosom. She then asked her- 
self when and where she was to use her weajx^n. She 
would have preferred to give her act a certain solemnity. 
At Caen, while bnxxhngf over her puqx^se. she had con- 
ceivevi the plan to assassinate Marat on the Champ de 
Mars, on the fourteenth of July, during the celebration of 
tlie annivers;iry of the desmiotion of the Bastile and the 
overthrow of the monarchy. She ho^xxi to slay this Icing 
of anarchy, surrounded as he would then be by thousands 
of his murderous followers: but when the celebration 
was postponed, she planned to assassinate him at one 
of the sessions of the Convention, the scene of his crimes 
and proscriptions. When she learned that Marat was 
ill and did not attend the sessions of the Conyention. 
there seemed no way left for her except to go to his 
residence and meet him there. She addressed a letter 
to him asking for a private inter\-iew. The letter re- 
mained unanswered. She sent a second letter, more 
urgent ilian the first, in which she requested an imme- 
diate interview for the purpose of communicating to him 
a secret of great importance. Moreover she represented 
herself as unhappy, as a \-ictim of political persecution 
and appealed to liis protection. After tliis appeal she 
hoped to be admitted. 

At about seven o'clock in die evening of July 13 she left 
her hotel, took a cab and proceeded to the residence of 
Marat, a dismal old building. Xo. 20 in the Rue des 
Cordeliers. There Marat lived, and there also he had 
the office and the press and composing-rooms of his 
newspaper, "The Friend of the People." Marat's li\-ing 
apartments, which were furnished with a certain ele- 
gance strangely contrasting with the gejieral appear- 

J9J 



JEAN PAUL MARAT 

ancc of the IjiiiUlin^, were situated on the second floor 
and were shared by his mistress, or rather his wife, who 
loved him passionately, and who watched over him with 
the fidelity of a dog. Knowing the great peril to which 
the idol of her heart might be exposed from foreign visi- 
tors, she subjected each of them, before admitting him, 
to a careful scrutiny and painstaking examination. 

When CharlfAte Corday had ascended the stairway 
leading to Marat's office, she suddenly found herself in 
the presence of Catherine Evrard — she continued to call 
herself by that name, although afterwards it appeared 
that she had been married to Marat. Catherine was 
surprised at the strange visitor, who, with a firm and 
melodious voice, inquired for the citizen Marat and de- 
sired to see him. With great attention Catherine scanned 
the young woman, who was dressed with great modesty 
and looked like a lady from the provinces, and demanded 
the object of her visit, and as Charlotte either refused to 
give her that information or failed to impress her favor- 
ably, she declined to admit her to Marat's room, who, 
she said, was just taking a bath and could not be seen. 
At this moment Marat's voice was heard from a room 
whose door was not tightly closed, and he told Catherine 
to admit the young stranger. He thought it was the 
young woman who had written to him, and who had 
announced her visit for that evening. Thus invited, 
Charlotte entered the room, much against the wish of 
Catherine. It was a small and dark room. A bath-tub 
stood in the centre, and Marat was taking a bath, cov- 
ered up to the neck, except his right arm and shoulder, 
for he was in the act of writing an editorial for his 
newspaper. A board had been placed across the tub, 

293 



FAMOUS ASSASSINATIONS 

and in this way a table had been formed to hold his 
manuscript. As she stepped up to him he began to ask 
her concerning the important news from Normandy she 
had promised in her letter. He also inquired about the 
Girondists who had gone there, and wanted to know what 
they were doing. She told him. "It is all right," he 
said, while marking down their names. "Within a week 
they will all be guillotined." If anything had been needed 
to confirm her resolution and to stir her up to speedy 
action, it was this announcement. She quickly drew the 
dagger from her bosom and plunged it into Marat's breast 
up to the handle. This thrust, aimed from above, and 
executed with wonderful force and firmness, pierced the 
lungs, and severed the main arteries, from which a 
stream of blood rushed forth, 

"Ah, this to me, my dear friend?" exclaimed the 
wounded man. It was all he could say. A moment 
later he was dead. 

The assassination of Marat created a rage, a frenzy 
among the lowest classes of the population of Paris which 
it is impossible to describe. That the courageous young 
woman who had slain the demon of blood was not torn 
to pieces is a wonder. Charlotte, in thinking of the fate 
which might befall her after her task was performed, had 
not forgotten the possibility or even probability of falling 
a victim to the fury of the people, but even this terrible 
prospect did not deter her. She received what may be 
called a fair trial and she had the benefit of an official 
defender. Since she did not deny the act of assassi- 
nation and readily admitted that it was an act of 
premeditation and careful preparation, any painstaking 
investigation might have been deemed unnecessary but 

294 



JEAN PAUL MARAT 

for the hope which the Terrorists entertained, of con- 
necting the Girondist party, and especially the Girondists 
assembled at Caen, with her crime, — a hope in which 
they were utterly disappointed. She was therefore ar- 
raigned before the Revolutionary Tribunal and subjected 
to a rigorous examination as to her accomplices. 

" Who filled your mind with so much hatred for 
Marat?" asked the judge. 

" I did not need the hatred of others," she replied ; 
" my own was sufficient." 

" But somebody must have instigated you to commit 
this deed ? " 

" We do but poorly what others tell us to do." 

" What did you hate him for ? " 

" For the enormity of his crimes." 

" What do you mean by his crimes ? " 

" His crimes against France and humanity." 

" W^hy did you kill him ? " 

" In order to give back peace to my country." 

" Do you believe you have killed all the Marats of 
France ? " 

" His death may frighten the others." 

" Do you regret and repent your deed ? " 

" I rejoice that it was successful." 

Only once during this trial her heart failed her. It 
was when Catherine Evrard, Marat's mistress, took the 
stand to testify against her, and in a voice choked with 
tears told the story of her visit to Marat's house. Look- 
ing at the woman who through her deed had lost him 
whom she loved, the tears burst from her own eyes, and 
she exclaimed : " No more ! No more ! I implore you. 
It is I who killed him ; I do not deny it ! " 

295 



FAMOUS ASSASSINATIONS 

Again she was deeply moved when the dagger with 
which she killed Marat was presented to her. " Do you 
recognize this instrument ? " She turned away her face 
and exclaimed : " I do ! I do ! " The public prosecutor 
called attention to the fact that she had plunged the 
dagger into the breast of her victim from above, that it 
was a difficult thrust, and that she must have practised 
it before she acquired so much skill. 

She listened attentively to what he said, and exclaimed 
with unfeigned indignation, " Shame ! Shame ! The 
wretch wants to brand me as an assassin ! " 

Her words caused a sensation. The audience and even 
the judges were struck with admiration, so much energy 
and patriotic devotion were expressed in her answers. 
She stood before them like an antique heroine, not trem- 
bling for her life, but provoking death and inviting it 
by her justification of the crime she had committed to 
save her country. The trial resulted in her conviction. 
She received her sentence of death without showing 
any emotion ; was it not the crown of immortality to 
which she had aspired? Her official defender, Chauveau 
Lagarde, — the same who three months later so nobly 
defended Marie Antoinette, — might have saved her by 
pleading insanity, but he comprehended her nobility of 
soul and would not offend her by such a plea. " She 
refuses to be defended," he said; " she pleads guilty and 
is beyond the fear of death ! " After the death sentence 
had been pronounced, she stepped up to her defender, 
and with a smile of angelic sweetness thanked him for 
his noble-minded, graceful and kind defence. " You un- 
derstood me," she said, " and your esteem consoles me 
for the contempt of the ignorant masses." 

296 



JEAN PAUL MARAT 

One thing remarkable about this trial was the respect, 
not to say the admiration, with which this young woman, 
who had killed their idol, was looked upon by the spec- 
tators. They seemed to feel instinctively that a divine 
inspiration, a heaven-born principle of humanity and 
patriotism, had prompted her to commit an act which 
human law condemned and punished, but which posterity 
would forgive, if not glorify. 

From the very hour of her conviction, she became a 
national heroine. The wild Maratists clamored against 
her, but there were thousands and thousands even among 
the Revolutionists who sympathized with her and ad- 
mired her. Brutus ceased to be the patron saint of 
patriotic assassins ; his place in the hearts of enemies 
of tyranny and despotism was taken by the young girl 
who had so heroically thrown life and beauty away to 
redeem her country. Poets and authors immediately 
celebrated her in song and prose ; it may be said that her 
immortality commenced even before her beautiful head 
fell under the knife of the guillotine. She died on the 
evening of the nineteenth of July. 

When she was taken to the place of execution in the 
costume of the condemned victims — a scarlet shirt — 
the sun was setting. His last rays sent a farewell greet- 
ing to the young heroine, who seemed to be bathed 
in a halo of glory, as she ascended the steps of the 
scafiFold with firm step and serene countenance. A shud- 
der passed through the multitude as her head fell into 
the basket. 

She was not insane ; she was an exalted, enthusiastic 
dreamer, who looked upon her crime as an act of justice 
demanded by the necessities of the times, — an act in- 

297 



FAMOUS ASSASSINATIONS 

spired by a higher Power which had guided her in her 
design and helped her in its execution. Thinking of 
Jeanne dArc, who had saved France and immortalized 
herself by her self-sacrificing devotion, she felt convinced 
that God often chooses woman as his instrument for 
interposition in the history of nations. If she deceived 
herself in the nature of the act by which she hoped to 
restore the happiness of France and to terminate the era 
of bloody hecatombs sacrificed to the fury of sanguinary 
monsters, is it the duty of the historian to judge her 
severely? Should he not rather, while pointing out the 
error of her judgment, be willing to bestow on her the 
laurel-wreath of a patriotic heroine, which has been 
accorded to her by poets, by her grateful countrymen, 
and by the whole world? 



298 



CHAPTER XIX 
PAUL THE FIRST OF RUSSIA 








,.i«*^^ 



PAUL I. 



CHAPTER XIX 

ASSASSINATION OF PAUL THE FIRST OF RUSSIA 
(March 24, 1801) 

THOSE who have followed the preceding chapters 
will remember that Catherine the Second of Russia 
got possession of the throne by the murder of her hus- 
band, fortified that possession by the murder of another 
Czar imprisoned in the fortress of Schliisselburg (the 
weak-minded Ivan the Sixth), and finally, haunted by 
the constant fear of^being dethroned by some new pre- 
tender, sacrificed all those whose claims might become 
dangerous to her security. History, which is filled with 
the crimes of remorseless rulers, furnishes, however, 
abundant proof that such crimes, although successful at 
first, are frequently visited upon their authors or their 
authors' children, and that blood cruelly and unjustly 
shed will blossom forth in a new crop of crime and 
bloodshed. It was so in the case of the murders com- 
mitted by Catherine the Second ; and while she, ver>' 
likely, personally suffered from a mental agony which 
made her life on the throne miserable in the extreme, 
it was her son who finally paid the penalty. 

The life of this unfortunate son had been full of dis- 
appointment and sorrow, almost from the moment of his 
birth. Born as the son of Peter the Third, he was almost 

301 



FAMOUS ASSASSINATIONS 

openly repudiated by his reputed father as a bastard. 
Quite often Peter the Third had declared in the presence 
of gentlemen and ladies of the court that the little Grand- 
Duke Paul was not his son, but either Alexis or Gregor 
Orloff's, and that he had no right to the succession. 
Catherine, however, insisted that Paul was Peter's son, 
and as the boy grew up, his many peculiarities of mind 
showed such a remarkable similarity to those of Peter 
the Third, that the legitimacy of his birth could hardly 
be doubted. It was really the manifestation of these 
peculiarities that filled the mind of the mother with that 
insuperable aversion, not to say hatred, for the son, which 
would have been incomprehensible but for the remorseful 
recollections which the traits of the father necessarily 
awakened in her mind. The boy could not fail to notice 
this aversion and hostility on the part of his mother, 
especially since the courtiers, modelling their conduct 
toward him on the sentiments of the Czarina, treated him 
with the same coldness and contempt. His whole edu- 
cation was carefully arranged on a premeditated plan to 
keep him as much as possible in ignorance of those very 
things which might be useful to him as a ruler, while 
his character was rendered distrustful and suspicious 
to such a degree that he became a misanthropist of 
the blackest hue. Not a day passed but he discovered 
espionage, treachery, ingratitude and intentional hostility 
among those whom the Empress had placed near his 
person as his tutors, teachers and confidants. They 
shamelessly deceived him, betrayed him, and lied about 
him. They cautiously instilled into his mind the story of 
the assassination of his father and of his mother's knowl- 
edge of the crime, and when the young man, horror- 

302 



PAUL THE FIRST OF RUSSIA 

struck at this disclosure, clenched his fists and gnashed 
his teeth, they reported to their imperial mistress that the 
young Grand Duke had manifested dangerous symptoms 
of impatience and independence, which would require even 
greater care and watchfulness on the part of his tutors 
and a more severe isolation of the young prince. Their 
only intention was, of course, to show their indefatigable 
zeal in the task entrusted to them and to make themselves 
absolutely indispensable to their imperial employer or 
her favorites ; but the effect on his mind was most 
disastrous. Burdened with the suspicion that his own 
mother was a murderess, and with the evidence afforded 
by thousands of little occurrences of her hatred toward 
himself, and of the treachery of his attendants, in con- 
stant fear of impending assassination, — is it not almost 
wonderful that his mind, not naturally strong, did not 
absolutely give way? 

When Paul had grown up to manhood, he was married 
to a lovely young German princess ; but since his mother 
had selected this wife for him, he regarded her with 
constant suspicion. She died without having succeeded 
in overcoming his distrust. A second marriage, which 
he was compelled to contract, had no happier results, 
although his wife bore him four sons. By special order 
of the Empress these sons were taken away from him 
and educated under the special supervision of Catherine 
herself, while Paul was ordered to proceed to Gatschina, 
a country-seat near St. Petersburg, where he amused 
himself with drilling a battalion of soldiers and arranging 
sham battles, just as Peter the Third, his father, had 
done before his elevation to the throne. But rarely was 
he permitted to receive his children, and when they came 

303 



FAMOUS ASSASSINATIONS 

to see him, he was always afraid that some secret danger 
might surprise him. 

In this manner thirty-five years had elapsed since the 
death of Peter the Third. During these thirty-five years 
the name of Peter had hardly ever been heard at the 
court, or at least not in the presence of the Empress. 
Then Catherine herself falls a prey to the grim destroyer ; 
and Paul inherits the crown. His mother's body is laid 
out in state on a catafalque, by whose side stands another 
coffin, magnificently ornamented and with an imperial 
crown on its top. It is the coffin of Peter the Third, 
whose remains had been deposited in a vault of the Alex- 
ander Nevski Monastery. It was one of Paul's first offi- 
cial acts to proceed to this convent, to open the vault and 
the coffin containing his father's mortal remains. One of 
the gloves of Peter the Third was still well preserved. 
Paul took it out of the coffin, knelt down in the presence 
of the whole court and reverently kissed it. Then he 
ordered the coffin to be carried to the imperial palace 
where the body of his mother lay in state, and an imperial 
crown to be placed on it. It was, perhaps, the most 
unique coronation which ever took place in history. But 
Paul wanted not only to honor his father's memory ; he 
wanted also to punish and to hand over to public con- 
tempt his murderer. He therefore ordered Alexis OrlofI, 
who had planned the assassination of Peter the Third, 
to act as chief mourner at the funeral. Orloflf obeyed ; 
but immediately after the obsequies, during which he 
was the target of the contemptuous eyes of the whole 
people, he was thrown into a kibitka and sent into exile. 
Such was the opening of Paul's reign. 

In his physical make-up Paul bore not the slightest 

304 



PAUL THE FIRST OF RUSSIA 

resemblance to Peter the Third, and this circumstance 
seemed to give confirmation to the circulating rumors 
that he was not Peter's son. But if, as a great historian 
has pointed out, Catherine's intense hatred of her son 
could have left any doubt in that respect, Paul's personal 
acts of government, almost from the very first day after 
the funeral of his mother, absolutely removed it. For, 
intellectually and morally, never a son bore a greater re- 
semblance to his father than Paul the First did to Peter 
the Third. Paul had good qualities, and with proper edu- 
cation and assistance, he would very likely have made a 
good ruler ; but without both, his well-meant but ill-timed 
plans of reform failed to do the people any good, while 
they created untold enemies for him. Exactly like Peter 
the Third, he had prepared a number of plans of reform, 
which he immediately promulgated without consulting 
with any one about their opportuneness or advisability. 
Like Peter's reform plans, Paul's turned mostly on trivial- 
ities, — on the style of hats or coats or military uniforms, 
— and by strenuously trying to enforce these edicts he 
made himself odious. He hated anything that might 
remind him of the French Revolution, and would not 
permit a Frenchman to enter the Russian Empire without 
a passport signed by one of the French Bourbon princes 
(then living in exile) ; like his father he idolized the 
Prussians and wanted Prussian military regulations, uni- 
forms and equipment introduced into the Russian army; 
in these efforts he was strongly opposed by the Russian 
officers and soldiers. They made fun of the imperial 
ordinances and (admitting then that he was Peter's son) 
said that he had inherited Peter's Prussomania and in- 
sanity. Citizens and peasants were equally indignant at 
20 305 



FAMOUS ASSASSINATIONS 

Paul's arbitrary interference with their personal rights 
and liberties. He also tried to introduce church reforms, 
which irritated the clergy and caused angry protests 
throughout the Empire. In attempting to introduce 
these " reforms " he sometimes manifested symptoms of 
real insanity. He declared war upon round hats, which 
he considered revolutionary and hostile to the govern- 
ment. He carried this war to such an extent that he 
ordered the police and even the soldiery to confiscate the 
obnoxious hats and arrest the owners, even while the 
latter were promenading in the streets, and without any 
regard to the weather. In this manner it was not long 
before he had estranged the good feelings of the aristoc- 
racy, the army, the clergy and the people at large. They 
began to regard him as a trifler and maniac, who was 
imbued with an excessive idea of his own authority, 
who defied national sentiment and prejudice, and who 
would not counsel with anybody because he distrusted 
everybody. 

In his foreign policy he was selfish and vacillating. He 
subordinated the national interests of Russia entirely to 
his own personal whims and prejudices. He formed 
alliances and cancelled them without cause, and thus 
made enemies of all foreign powers. The most promi- 
nent statesmen and generals became convinced that 
Russia, which under Catherine's rule had won a com- 
manding position among the powers of Europe, would 
lose all prestige if forced into a state of political isolation 
by the foolish policy of Paul the First. 

Plots and conspiracies were formed, of which the most 
prominent court oflficials in immediate attendance on the 
Emperor became members. Some of these men he hated 

3,06 



PAUL THE FIRST OF RUSSIA 

because they had been favorites and counsellors of his 
mother ; others he had in his sudden fits of passion abused 
and insulted. Most prominent among these were Count 
Pahlen, the brothers Zubow, and Count Talizin, com- 
mander of the Imperial Guards. They added their per- 
sonal grievances to the pubUc dissatisfaction, and joined 
hands in bringing about Paul's dethronement. They 
commenced working on the Grand Dukes, Paul's sons, 
and especially upon the oldest of them, Alexander, whom 
Count Pahlen convinced that the Emperor held in readi- 
ness an order for the arrest of the Grand Dukes, with the 
exception of Nicholas, his third son, whom he had desig- 
nated for the succession to the crown. Alexander was of 
a sentimental turn of mind. For a while he resisted the 
tempting offers of the conspirators, but when the reports 
of his impending arrest and transfer to Schliisselburg 
were confirmed by others, he finally consented to the 
arrest of the Emperor and to the demand for his forced 
abdication. This he did with tears and heart-rending 
supplications not to harm his father and to treat him with 
becoming respect. Having received this consent, the con- 
spirators proceeded to work with great promptness and 
energy. The time was propitious for the immediate exe- 
cution of their conspiracy ; for they knew very well that 
what originally had been planned only as dethronement 
by abdication might easily lead to the assassination of 
the Czar, and they had taken precautions and measures 
tending towards such a result. 

It was during the Masnaliza, the Russian Carnival, 
that the conspirators resolved to carry their plot into 
execution. The whole population was in a state of 
frenzy, drunkenness, and wild excesses. The conspira- 

307 



FAMOUS ASSASSINATIONS 

tors knew that during these days they could meet and 
make all necessary arrangements without attracting the 
least attention. Paul the First resided in the palace of 
St. Michael, which he claimed to have built on a direct 
order of St. Michael himself. He had entirely isolated 
himself ; his most faithful servant, Count Rostopchin, 
and his wife, whom he had really loved, had been ban- 
ished from his apartments. It was this Rostopchin who 
twelve years afterwards burned the city of Moscow. He 
distrusted them as well as all others. His only confidante 
(and, as is asserted, his mistress at the same time) was 
an ugly old cook, who prepared his meals in a kitchen 
adjoining his bedroom, that he might be secure against 
poison. The Empress Maria, distinguished by the gentle- 
ness and tenderness of her sentiments, who had given him 
innumerable proofs of her affection and devotion, was in 
his eyes a traitress who he supposed was plotting with 
his enemies against his life. He had therefore ordered 
the doors leading from his own apartments to hers to be 
walled up. 

The assassination itself presents some points of resem- 
blance to that of Wallenstein, Duke of Friedland. On 
the evening of March 23, 1801, General Talizin, chief of 
the Imperial Guards, gave a brilliant party, to which only 
gentlemen of great intrepidity and resoluteness, all of 
whom were known to be personal enemies of the Em- 
peror, had been invited. When the guests were heated 
with wine and in a condition of semi-intoxication, Count 
Pahlen entered the salon in which the guests were as- 
sembled ; he referred in a few impressive words to the 
despotism and tyranny of the Emperor, to the widespread 
spirit of rebellion, to the dissatisfaction prevailing among 

308 



PAUL THE FIRST OF RUSSIA 

officers, people, and clergy, to the public disorders and 
disturbances breaking out on all sides, and closed his 
inflammatory harangue by appealing to his hearers to 
make an end of these intolerable conditions. He knew 
his speech would be enthusiastically received, and for 
several minutes there was perfect bedlam among the 
guests. Some of them hurled chairs above their heads, 
others grasped their knives or swords, and swore that 
they would kill the insane fool who had already too long 
disgraced the imperial throne. 

The plan according to which the conspirators pro- 
ceeded had been carefully projected. Pahlen, who was 
Governor-General of St. Petersburg, left the palace in the 
general confusion, but returned soon with a detachment 
of cavalry and guarded the one side of the Winter Palace. 
Talizin marched up from the other side with a regiment 
of grenadiers. When these soldiers marched through 
the botanical garden of the palace, their loud and heavy 
steps frightened away many thousand crows, which were 
sleeping upon the high lime-trees of the garden. The 
loud croaking of this immense army of black birds ought 
to have aroused Paul from his sleep and warned him of 
his impending danger. But he slept on. 

After the palace was fully surrounded, the conspira- 
tors crossed the ditch on the ice. A battalion of soldiers, 
who were not in the secret, and who were on guard on the 
outposts, offered some resistance, but were easily over- 
powered and disarmed. Not a shot had been fired. After 
having passed the gates of the palace, the conspirators 
were joined by Colonel Marin, the Commandant of the 
palace, who conducted the riotous throng, among whom 
were hardly any sober persons, over winding-stairs up to 

309 



FAMOUS ASSASSINATIONS 

the door of the Emperor's bedroom. On the threshold 
of the door the guard was asleep, and when aroused and 
trying to resist, was very rudely handled and barely es- 
caped alive. He ran down the stairs and called the 
guards to arms. They demanded to be taken to the Em- 
peror's rooms, but Marin interfered. He made them 
present arms, and in this position no Russian soldier 
dares move a limb or speak a word. 

The crowd entered the bedroom. Prince Zubow and 
General Benningsen — the latter a Hanoverian by birth, 
but of great authority in the army on account of his en- 
ergy and reckless audacity — stepped up to the bed of 
the Czar, brandishing their swords. " Sire," said Ben- 
ningsen, "you are my prisoner!" The Emperor stared 
at them in speechless surprise. " Sire," continued Ben- 
ningsen, " it is a question of life or death for you ! Yield 
to circumstances and sign this act of abdication! " The 
room was becoming filled up with drunken conspirators, 
all of whom wanted to see what was going on, and tried 
to get in. In a moment of confusion caused by this push- 
ing and crowding in, which others tried to prevent, the 
Emperor sprang from his bed and took refuge behind the 
screen of a stove, where he staggered over some obstacle 
and fell to the ground. " Sire," exclaimed Benningsen 
once more, " submit to the inevitable! Your life is at 
stake ! " At this moment a new noise was heard from the 
anteroom, and Benningsen, who so far had been the 
only protector of Paul's life, turned to the door, to see 
whether the new-comers were friends or enemies. Paul 
was, for the moment, alone with his assailants. His 
courage returned. He ran up to a table upon which lay 
several pistols. He reached for them, but some of the 

310 



PAUL THE FIRST OF RUSSIA 

conspirators had watched the motion of his hand ; one of 
them almost severed it from his arm by a stroke of his 
sword. Agonized with pain the Czar rushed upon his 
enemies. A short struggle, a heavy fall, and it was all 
over. 

The murder of Peter the Third was brought about by 
the use of a napkin ; his son, Paul the First, was strangled 
with an officer's sash. There is another point of resem- 
blance in the assassination of the two Czars, father and 
son. Alexis Orlofif and Nicholas Zubow, the murderers 
of the two Czars, had both taken dinner with their victims 
on the day of the murder. 

When the death of their father was reported to the 
Grand Dukes, Alexander especially, the heir to the crown, 
was almost overcome with emotion and terror. The 
details of the murder were carefully concealed from him ; 
on the contrary, he was made to believe that a fit of apo- 
plexy brought on by the excitement of the scene had 
caused the Czar's death. After much lamentation he was 
finally persuaded to address a proclamation to the Russian 
people in which apoplexy was given as the cause of the 
sudden and unexpected death of Czar Paul the First dur- 
ing the night of the twenty-third of March. Quite early 
next day this proclamation was promulgated throughout 
the city of Petersburg by military heralds. But the people 
were not deceived by these official lies. Everybody knew 
in what manner Paul the First had died. The news of 
the murder in all its details had spread with lightning- 
like rapidity through the streets and alleys to the remotest 
corners of the city. 

The conspirators, far from denying their guilt, boasted 
of the crime as of an act of heroism and patriotism. 

311 



FAMOUS ASSASSINATIONS 

Many officers who were at the time miles away from the 
palace of St. Michael claimed to have been witnesses of 
the tragedy and to have lent a helping hand in slaying 
" the tyrant." It is recorded that Count Miinster, the 
Prussian ambassador at the court of St. Petersburg, a 
short time after Paul's assassination, spoke with horror 
and indignation of the catastrophe at a dinner party at 
which a number of the most prominent army officers and 
state officials were present ; one of these officers quite 
unconcernedly defended the crime, saying : " Count, you 
should not blame us for defending ourselves ! Our 
Magna Charta is tyranny, or if you prefer to call it so, 
absolutism, tempered by assassination, and our rulers 
should regulate their conduct accordingly ! " And this 
state of affairs has existed in Russia to the present day. 



312 



CHAPTER XX 
AUGUST VON KOTZEBUE 




AUGUST VON KOTZEBUE 



CHAPTER XX 

ASSASSINATION OF AUGUST VON KOTZEBUE 
(March 23, 1819) 

AFTER the downfall of Napoleon the monarchs of 
Europe had a very difificult task to perform. Not 
only were the domestic institutions of their states, which 
had been overthrown by the French conquest and in many 
cases altered by French decrees, to be regulated anew or 
reinstated on a firm footing, but the relations between 
governments and subjects were to be reorganized on a 
new basis, in conformity with the liberal principles which 
had spread from France and been adopted readily by the 
intelligent and educated classes in Germany. Solemn 
promises had been made by the German princes to their 
peoples in order to enlist their sympathies in their final 
efforts against Napoleon, and after the Corsican had been 
dethroned, they were expected to carry out these promises; 
Especially was this true of Prussia and the smaller Ger- 
man states, whose inhabitants had been promised a sys- 
tem of representative government and a constitution 
limiting the powers of the executive. Such promises 
were very inconvenient to some of these governments, 
and they were rather inclined to forget and abandon them 
than to carry them out in good faith. Moreover Russia 

315 



FAMOUS ASSASSINATIONS 

and Austria, the representatives of autocratic power in 
Europe, exerted their influence on the German govern- 
ments in a direction opposite to the popular aspirations, 
and encouraged them to ignore their pledges given under 
the stress of invasion. It should be remembered that the 
Holy Alliance, of which Metternich was the inspiring 
genius, had been formed not only against Napoleon, but 
also against the freedom and the popular rights of the 
nations of Europe. In spite of its high-sounding and 
sanctimonious title, the Holy Alliance was the curse of 
nations, and it would have extended its nefarious influ- 
ence even beyond the Atlantic Ocean, and would have 
crushed the national aspirations for independence and 
self-government in the states of Central and South 
America but for the timely issue of the Monroe Doctrine, 
which saved the Western hemisphere from " Holy Alli- 
ance " interference. 

It was only after the united efforts of the nations cul- 
minated in the final dethronement of Napoleon, and after 
the Vienna Congress had apportioned the heritage of the 
Empire among the victorious monarchs that the nations 
became aware that the liberal promises they had received 
while these monarchs were in distress were either not to 
be redeemed at all, or redeemed only in part. The saga- 
city of the statesmen of continental Europe was bent on 
defrauding the people of those civil and political rights 
which had been held out to them as part of the reward 
to be won by repelling the attacks of Napoleon, and the 
sovereigns were only too willing to assist them in carrying 
out this deception. 

Unfortunately some of these sovereigns were of in- 
ferior mental calibre and not at all . fitted for the great 

316 



AUGUST VON KOTZEBUE 

work of reconstructing their shattered monarchies after 
the tremendous convulsions of the preceding twenty 
years, and they were perfectly dwarfed by a comparison 
with the colossus who had moulded Europe so long solely 
according to the inspirations of his genius or ambition. 
Alexander of Russia had the reputation of being a man 
of ability ; but this reputation was without solid founda- 
tion. At the period immediately following the overthrow 
of Napoleon he was entirely under the influence of 
Madame Kriidener, a religious enthusiast and visionary, 
who skilfully concealed her immorality under pietistic 
propagandism. She filled Alexander's mind with vague 
and mystic ideas of his divine mission as a ruler, in which 
the human rights of his subjects had no place. Frederick 
William the Third, King of Prussia, was a weakling of 
the worst sort. He had actually been forced into the 
anti-Napoleonic movement by the enthusiasm of his 
people, and after national independence had been accom- 
plished he trembled lest anything might occur to endanger 
the public order and tranquillity so dearly purchased. It 
was therefore comparatively easy for the reactionary ele- 
ments to get full control of the Prussian government and 
to prevent any bold reform in a democratic direction. All 
they had to do was to fill the mind of the timid King with 
a vague fear that the scenes of the French Revolution 
might be renewed by inviting the people to cooperation 
in the government. Even less reliable was the Emperor 
of Austria, Francis the First, a man naturally distrustful 
and suspicious, who knew how to conceal his cunning and 
his antagonism to liberal ideas under the appearance of 
great personal kindness and bonhomie. These were the 
three men of whom Europe expected a great political re- 

317 



FAMOUS ASSASSINATIONS 

form, and never perhaps, in political history, were hopes 
and expectations so woefully misplaced and doomed 
to more cruel disappointment than in this case. 

It would be unjust to assert that the great mass of the 
German people felt a deep interest in the introduction of 
those measures of political reform which the sovereigns 
had promised when they appealed to the patriotism of 
their subjects. Most of the Germans, even those belong- 
ing to the educated classes, had up to that time paid but 
little attention to politics, and their political indiflFerence 
had survived the war for national independence. The 
nobility, with a few noble exceptions, were not at all 
anxious to see measures of political reform introduced, 
because they knew that such measures would curtail their 
aristocratic privileges and prerogatives. 

But there was one class of citizens which had hailed the 
promises of the sovereigns with unbounded enthusiasm, 
for they had hoped from their realization a political re- 
naissance for the whole Fatherland and a new era of 
greatness and world-wide influence recalling the days 
of the Hohenstaufen, — the glorious days when the Ger- 
man Empire was the first power in the world, and when 
all civilized nations from the Baltic Sea to the southern 
shores of the Mediterranean bowed their necks in obedi- 
ence to the demands of its rulers. This class was the 
students of the many German universities, scattered over 
Prussia, Austria, Bavaria, and the smaller German states. 
Inspired by Schiller, Korner, Amdt, and other poets, 
these young men had flocked to the standards of Bliicher, 
Scharnhorst, York, and Biilow, and had fought with the 
courage of lions on the battle-fields of Germany and 
France for the holy cause of German independence. The 

318 



AUGUST VON KOTZEBUE 

hope and dream of another Germany, greater, nobler, 
more progressive and worthier of being the leader of 
nations than they had known it before the war, had 
fanned their enthusiasm into a flame which nothing 
could extinguish, and which after their return from 
the war burst forth, here and there, in great patriotic 
demonstrations. 

Dreamers and idealists though they were, they began 
to transform some of their dreams into reality. They 
formed a great association embracing the students of all 
the German universities, north and south, — the German 
Burschenschaft, in whose organization they embodied the 
noblest principles of manhood, patriotism, and civic de- 
votion. The ancient German colors, black, red and gold, 
were revived to adorn their banners, their caps, their 
sashes and badges. Quite a literature of patriotic and 
students' songs suddenly sprang into existence, in which 
the dream of a great united Germany appeared in the 
mind's eye as a living reality. Many of the professors of 
the universities, who had also been volunteers in the war 
and had shared the enthusiasm of the students, joined 
them in their patriotic devotion and lent the authority of 
their names and writings to their aspirations of national 
political revival. Arndt's famous national song, " Where 
is the German's Fatherland ? " with the reply, that the 
German fatherland embraces all the countries in which 
the German tongue is heard and in which German song 
rises heavenward, is the typical expression of that most 
enthusiastic period of German student-life. 

The Burschenschaft became an organization of na- 
tional importance. It had its admirers, but it had also 
its enemies ; and unfortunately the latter were mostly to 

319 



FAMOUS ASSASSINATIONS 

be found among the nobility. The feeling prevailing 
against the Burschenschaft in the government circles of 
the different German states was therefore decidedly hos- 
tile, and waited only for an opportunity to show that 
hostility. This opportunity soon presented itself and. it 
must be admitted, was brought about by the reckless 
audacity of the members of the association. In the year 
1817 the tercentenary of the great Gemian Reformation 
was to be celebrated with unusual splendor, and the Bur- 
schenschaft profited by this occasion to make a public 
demonstration in behalf of its patriotic principles. It 
selected as the place of its convention the Wartburg, 
where Martin Luther resided upon his return from the 
Diet of Worms and. to make the convention especially 
noteworthy and solemn, had chosen the eighteenth of 
October, the anniversary of the battle of Leipsic. as the 
principal day for the celebration. 

An immense number of visitors from all parts of Ger- 
many came to Eisenach, situated at the foot of the Wart- 
burg, and delegations of students from all German uni- 
versities, adorned with their German colors and carrying 
black, red and gold banners with patriotic inscriptions, 
assembled on the historic ground and participated in the 
festivities, for which an elaborate programme had been 
arranged. The greatest enthusiasm prevailed, and for the 
time being all those petty jealousies which had so often 
disturbed the cordial fellowship of the inhabitants of 
different German states had disappeared, and all those 
present revelled in the exuberance of patriotic sentiment : 
they were all the children of one great fatherland, a great 
united nation ! The songs and the speeches repeated and 
echoed this one thought. It lived uppermost in the hearts 

320 



AUGUST VOX KOTZEBUE 

of those young- enthusiasts, but presented itself to their 
minds rather as a vague poetic ideal than as a stern polit- 
ical reality. Among the thousands of visitors there was, 
perhaps, not one who had seriously thought of the politi- 
cal realization of the dream. Imprudent as these too 
boisterous demonstrations had been during the day, there 
was enacted late in the evening, when most of the guests 
had already left the famous castle, a sort of theatrical 
performance, which irritated the conservative and reac- 
tionary classes exceedingly and resulted disastrously for 
the Eurschenschaft. This performance was gotten up in 
imitation of a famous scene in Luther's Ufe — the burn- 
ing of the papal bull. Massmann, a student of the uni- 
versity of Jena, represented the Luther of the nineteenth 
century. A large bonfire was built, and amidst bound- 
less enthusiasm a number of books and other materials, 
odious to the students, were thrown into the flames and 
destroyed. Among the books was Kotzebue's " History of 
the German Empire," Haller's " Restoration of Political 
Science," Section 13 of the Federal Constitution, etc. Be- 
sides the books, a corset such as used to be worn by the 
officers of the Prussian guards, a Hessian queue, and an 
Austrian corporal's mace were also thrown into the fire. 
The Wartburg celebration produced tremendous excite- 
ment throughout Germany. The reactionary elements 
were wild with indignation. They accused not only the 
managers of the festivity and the Eurschenschaft of rev- 
olutionary tendencies, but they included in this charge all 
the young men of the Empire, averring that they had 
grown up under the influence of the pernicious doctrines 
of the French Revolution and French armies of occupa- 
tion, and wanted now to apply those doctrines to the reor- 
21 321 



FAMOUS ASSASSINATIONS 

ganization of German institutions. They also demanded 
that the organizers of the Wartburg celebration should be 
prosecuted and punished as traitors. All the conservative 
and government papers opened a regular war upon the 
seditious and revolutionary tendencies of the universities, 
and the agitation reached its climax by the publication of 
a memorandum addressed by Baron Stourdza, a Russian 
councillor of state, to the Emperor Alexander, in which 
he predicted that a bloody revolution would result unless 
these seditious tendencies were speedily repressed. The 
Stourdza memorandum had originally been intended for 
the use of the governments only. The Czar had sent a 
copy to each European government, but one copy of it 
had found its way to the office of a Paris newspaper and 
had been published. The excitement among the German 
students rose to the boiling-point, and their wrath was 
concentrated against Russia. It was only too well known 
that Russia had in her employ a number of spies scattered 
throughout the German states, who kept her government 
well posted on the political and social currents. The most 
prominent of these spies was August von Kotzebue, a 
man of great literary talent and distinguished as the 
author of many comedies and dramas, but politically of 
extreme conservative views. The attacks of the liberal 
press were therefore mainly directed against Kotzebue, 
whose reports to the Russian government were supposed 
to have inspired Stourdza's memorandum. 

At that time there was at Jena a student of the Uni- 
versity, of irreproachable character, excellent conduct, 
not especially distinguished by eminent ability or talent, 
but inclined to religious and patriotic exaltation. His 
name was Carl Ludwig Sand; he came from Wunsiedel, 

322 



AUGUST VON KOTZEBUE 

the birthplace of the famous German humorist, Jean Paul 
Friedrich Richter. He had been a volunteer in the war 
against France and had embraced the doctrines of the 
Burschenschaft with the greatest enthusiasm. The de- 
nunciations of the German students in Stourdza's memo- 
randum filled him with profound indignation, especially 
against Kotzebue, whom he blamed as the principal sin- 
ner. Moreover the frivolous, half indecent character of 
many of Kotzebue's plays had often revolted Sand's 
moral sentiment He considered him a source of corrup- 
tion for the young men and women of the nation, and 
when to this wrong the charge of political treason and 
espionage was added. Sand thought that nothing but 
death was an adequate punishment for Kotzebue. He 
considered also that it was not only a moral, but a patri- 
otic duty to inflict upon him that punishment. He knew 
that the act would cost him his life, but that consideration 
did not for a moment deter him from undertaking it. He 
did not consult with anybody about it, but he conceived, 
planned, and executed it all alone. 

On the ninth of March, 1819, Sand left Jena and 
proceeded to Mannheim, where Kotzebue lived. Two 
weeks later, on the twenty-third of March, 1819, a young 
stranger appeared at the Kotzebue residence, and said 
that he wished to see the councillor in order to hand him 
personally a letter of introduction. The servant delivered 
the message, and after a few minutes Kotzebue himself 
appeared in the hall and invited Sand — for it was he — 
to come in. Sand handed him the letter ; but no sooner 
had Kotzebue opened it and begun to read it than Sand 
plunged a long dirk-knife into his breast with the words, 
" Take this as your reward, traitor to your country ! " 

323 



FAMOUS ASSASSINATIONS 

And he stabbed him again and again with fatal effect. 
Thereupon he thrust the knife into his own breast, but 
had strength enough to run out into the hall, where he 
handed the astounded servant a sealed document contain- 
ing a well-written justification of his murderous act, and 
inscribed : " Death Punishment for August von Kotze- 
bue in the name of virtue." Running out into the street, 
where a crowd of people assembled, attracted by the 
screams of the servant, he called out in a loud voice : 
" Long live my German fatherland! " and kneeling down 
he forcibly plunged the knife into his breast once more, 
exclaiming: " Great God, I thank thee for this victory." 
Sand's wound was serious, but a skilful operation 
saved his life. On the twentieth of May, 1820, he was 
executed at Mannheim, after a lengthy trial and a pains- 
taking investigation, in the course of which the German 
and the Russian police made great efforts to discover ac- 
cessories to his crime. All these efforts failed, however, 
and the murder of Kotzebue could be accounted only an 
individual act of patriotic exaltation. The result of 
Sand's self-sacrifice was very different from what he 
had expected. In fact, Kotzebue's assassination proved 
disastrous to the liberal movement throughout Germany; 
it furnished a welcome pretext for the most repressive 
measures against the press, against the universities, 
against the Burschenschaft, against liberty in whatever 
shape or form it might manifest itself. That long era 
of political reaction was inaugurated against which the 
German people rebelled with only partial success in 1848 
and 1849, ^^^ from which only the ejection of Austria 
and the reorganization of a new German Empire on a 
more liberal basis in 1871 gave them permanent relief. 

324 



CHAPTER XXI 
DUC DE BERRY 




DUG DE BERRY 



CHAPTER XXI 

ASSASSINATION OF THE DUG DE BERRY 
(February 13, 1820) 

THE political situation in France, after the over- 
throw of Napoleon and the restoration of the 
Bourbons, was even more difficult and more precarious 
for the governing classes than it was in Germany. The 
French nation, proud in the consciousness of having oc- 
cupied the first place in Europe for twenty years, chafed 
at the idea of living under a king whom foreign rulers 
and foreign armies had imposed on France, and who, in 
consequence, had to act in blind obedience to the dictates 
of these foreigners. The danger of a new violent out- 
break against the Bourbon government was therefore 
ever present not only to the French mind, but to the mind 
of Europe, and to guard against it the foreign powers 
had made it one of the terms of peace with France that a 
foreign army of occupation should hold possession of the 
northern and northeastern provinces of France until 
the entire war indemnity exacted from the vanquished 
country had been paid. While the foreign occupation 
was ostensibly a financial measure, it was in reality a 
military measure giving to the foreign powers the keys to 
the interior of France and to Paris, in case a new invasion 

327 



FAMOUS ASSASSINATIONS 

should become necessary. Not only was the position 
of the King rendered difficult by his political oppo- 
nents, the Imperialists and the Republicans, but its hard- 
ships and difficulties were materially aggravated by the 
senseless and extravagant demands of the Royalists, who 
had in large number returned to France with the foreign 
armies. These Royalists, many of whom had been absent 
from France for twenty years or more, on their return 
from their voluntary exile, found their estates and 
manors, which had been confiscated under the Revolu- 
tion, in the possession of strangers ; all the superior 
offices in the civil service and the higher positions in the 
army, which they claimed as their own by right of birth, 
were filled by men of low extraction. They therefore 
turned to the King and demanded of him the restoration 
of their lost estates of their aristocratic privileges. 

The King, Louis the Eighteenth, was perhaps the most 
intelligent of all the monarchs of Europe, but he lacked 
force of character, and, moreover, his long life in exile, 
with its pleasures and enjoyments as a sybarite and epi- 
curean, had but poorly qualified him for his suddenly im- 
posed tasks. He was expected by Europe to hold his own 
in a population the majority of whom were opposed to 
him, and who had learned that a king could be easily got 
rid of, if the people did not want him. Although Louis the 
Eighteenth, with his penetrating sagacity, clearly saw 
the instability of his throne, he honestly wished to make 
the best of the chance the fortune of war had given him. 
He was willing to give the French people a liberal gov- 
ernment, provided it could be done without endangering 
the throne, and without violating the pledges given to the 
monarchs who had reinstated him. He might have even 

328 



DUC DE BERRY 

more energetically opposed the reactionary demands of 
the ultra-Royalists, who recognized his younger brother, 
the Comte d'Artois, as their leader, if his experiences, 
especially during the " Hundred Days," had not filled 
him with disgust and suspicion toward the Imperialists. 
While Napoleon was in Elba, Louis the Eighteenth kept 
all the Bonapartist generals and high officials in office, 
relying on their promises and assurances of fidelity ; but 
on Napoleon's return they all betrayed him, and either 
flocked to the standards of the Emperor or declared their 
adhesion to his cause as soon as he had set foot on French 
soil. 

Perhaps the man who had sinned most in this respect 
was Marshal Ney. who in a personal interview asked of 
the King as a personal favor to be placed in command 
of an army corps and to be sent against the Emperor, 
pledging himself to bring Napoleon in chains before his 
throne. Louis granted the Marshal's request, but instead 
of capturing the Emperor, Ney went over to him with 
his entire army corps and fought at Waterloo again as 
the " bravest of the brave " in the imperial army. In vain 
he sought death on the field, when he saw that the battle 
was lost ; it was reserved for him to die by French bullets 
in the Luxembourg garden of Paris, fired by royalist 
officers, disguised as common soldiers. From party 
hatred, these men had volunteered to act as executioners 
of one of the greatest military heroes of revolutionary 
France. Labedoyere and other famous generals who 
were traitors to Louis were executed ; others saved their 
lives by flight. The great Carnot and other Imperialists 
were banished from France. 

The impression made upon the ultra-Royalists by these 
329 



FAMOUS ASSASSIXATIOXS 

severe measure;; ag:ainst men who had shed histre upon 
France, was in the highest degfree deplorable. These 
fanatics supposed that the tVnapartists and RepubUcans 
of the whole kingdom were utterly at their mercy. They 
secretly organized a special government, under the presi- 
dency of the Conite d'Artois. at the Pavilion Marsan for 
the purpose of bringing to justice all those who had 
participated in the Xa[x»leonic couf> d'ttat or in the 
Revolution of 1789. A new era of terrorism was organ- 
ized by these " white Jacobins." as they were sigrnificantly 
called, and the most cruel excesses were committed in the 
prox-inces. La \'endee. which had fought so heroically 
for the Bourbon d^tiasty. treated the Imperialists and 
Republicans grenerously : but in the South, where re- 
ligrious fanaticism added fuel to the tlame of political 
hatred, the most atrocious excesses and murders were 
committed. A\-ignon. Nimes. Montpellier. Toulouse and 
other cities of the South were disgraced by the butchery 
of hundreds of Protestants : in some of them the victims 
of religious and political persecution died at the stake. 
At Ax-ignion the famous Marshal Bnme was assassinated : 
at Toulouse. General Ramel : at Nimes. Count de la Garde. 
WTiolesale assassinations and butcheries were organized ; 
armed bands, fanaticized by the priests, roamed through 
the country-, and butchered the Protestants en masse. 
Ten thousand of the unfortunates fled to the mountain 
recesses of the Cevennes. choosing rather to die from 
hunger and cold than to be tortured to death. Juries com- 
posed of the most intolerant Ro\-alists lent their aid to 
these outrages, by condemning the Protestants to death 
and acquitting the assassins. The veterans of Napoleon's 
army and forty thousand officers, many of whom had 

330 



DUC DE BERRY 

served with distinction under the imperial eagles, were 
driven from their homes and wandered from village to 
village begging for bread and shelter. The northern 
provinces were spared these outrages, but the one hun- 
dred and fifty thousand foreign soldiers stationed in their 
towns and fortresses were terrible reminders of the hu- 
miliation and shame which the restoration of the Bour- 
bons had brought upon France. 

The French Chambers were entirely under the control 
of the extreme Royalists. They enacted laws which re- 
duced the political conditions of France to those which 
had existed prior to 1789. They looked upon the Revo- 
lutionary era and the Empire as upon a lawless interreg- 
num which should be ignored by the government, and 
they demanded that all the old institutions of the king- 
dom should be revived. They were so bold and so inso- 
lent that they overawed the government for a while. 
Very reluctantly the King consented to several tyrannical 
laws, — for instance, the law referring all political crimes 
to special courts, composed of one officer and four judges, 
from whose decision no appeal could be taken. But the 
King saw to his regret that his acquiescence in these 
immoderate demands had no other effect than to make 
the ultra-Royalists bolder and more arrogant. They de- 
manded a curtailment of the right of suffrage, a reenact- 
ment of the right of primogeniture and other feudal 
measures. 

The King's patience was exhausted : he refused to 
sanction any of these laws and dissolved the Chambers. 
In their impotent rage the disappointed ultra-Royalists 
applied to the foreign powers, asking their intervention 
in behalf of absolute royalty, and imploring them to com- 

331 



FAMOUS ASSASSINATIONS 

pel the King to desist from his pernicious protection of 
Jacobins and regicides. Metternich sent this strange 
petition to the French government. But neither the 
King nor his favorite minister, M. Decazes, was scared 
by such foolhardy steps. They coolly ignored them and 
courageously inaugurated a series of political reforms in 
order to reassure public opinion. Instead of reducing 
the number of electors (as the ultras demanded), they 
largely increased it. To the periodical press and the daily 
newspapers was given greater liberty ; the censorship, 
which had been exceedingly annoying, was abolished. 
At the same time, by the able financial management 
of the Due de Richelieu, the 1,600,000.000 francs war 
indemnity was reduced to 502,000,000 francs and a large 
number of the foreign troops were withdrawn from the 
northern provinces. These liberal and patriotic measures 
followed one another in quick succession and made a 
very favorable impression upon the people. The liberal 
parties were willing to cooperate with the government in 
its endeavor to restore the prosperity of the country, to 
relieve the distress of the masses, and to free France 
from foreign occupation. The Chambers of 181 8 and 
1819 also cooperated with the government, and the liberal 
party was represented in them by a small number of 
illustrious men, — such men as Lafayette, General Foy, 
Benjamin Constant, — men who were more patriots than 
partisans. In fact, everything indicated a return of speedy 
prosperity, when an event occurred which at one blow 
crushed the hopes of the patriots, paralyzed the hand of 
the government, and reinstated the extremists in power. 
This event was the assassination of the Due de Berry, 
the hope of the Bourbon dynasty. 

332 



DUC DE BERRY 

On its return from exile the royal family of France 
consisted of : 

The King, formerly Comte de Provence. 

The King's brother, the Comte d'Artois, and his two 
sons : 

The Due d'Angouleme, and 

The Due de Berry. 

The Comte d'Artois, the presumptive heir to the throne, 
was bom in 1757, and was consequently fifty-seven years 
old on his return to Paris. He was ultra-Royalistic in 
his political views and was considered the head of the 
extremists. His eldest son, the Due d'Angouleme, was 
born in 1775, and had retired from France with his father 
at the commencement of the Revolution. He was a man 
of very mediocre ability, but of exemplary character. In 
1799 he was married to his cousin Marie-Therese-Char- 
lotte, daughter of Louis the Sixteenth, who had passed 
her unhappy childhood in prison, which she had left 
only in 1795. She was worshipped by the entire royal 
family as an angel of kindness and mercy. They had 
no children. 

The younger son, the Due de Berry, was born in 1778, 
and had passed his youth and early manhood in exile. 
He had a more manly character than his brother, and 
the French nobility of the old regime looked upon him as 
the hope of the Bourbon dynasty. Far from being a 
genius, the Due de Berry was a man of good intelligence, 
brave, dashing, and the very type of a French officer, 
prior to the Revolution. He had many of the generous 
traits, but also some of the vices of that elegant and high- 
spirited class of young men. While living in exile, in 
England, .he formed a liaison with a young English- 

333 



FAMOUS ASSASSINATIONS 

woman, who bore him two daughters, to whom he was 
greatly attached and whom he took to Paris and placed 
in a young ladies' academy. In 1816 the King married 
him to a Neapolitan princess, Caroline, daughter of the 
Crown Prince of that kingdom, a handsome, high-spir- 
ited, healthy young woman, who gave promise of giving 
the dynasty direct heirs. The newly married couple 
lived very happily together, and enjoyed life in the 
French capital to its fullest extent. They were really the 
official representatives of royalty and its splendors, — 
neither the King nor the Due dAngouleme caring much 
for the entertainments, balls, and receptions of court life. 
The prominence thus given to the Due de Berry, and the 
expectation that through him the elder line of the Bour- 
bons would be continued explain fully why he was singled 
out as the victim of assassination. He was not only iden- 
tified with the extreme Royalists, so odious to the people, 
but, with him out of the way, it was only a question of 
time when the elder branch of the dynasty would die out 
entirely, no more issue being expected from the Due 
dAngouleme, who had been married already twenty 
years without having children. Such were at least the 
considerations of the young man who undertook the per- 
ilous task of killing the Due de Berry, and who fully 
accomplished his purpose. 

This young man was Jean Pierre Louvel, a resident of 
Versailles, an enthusiastic admirer of Napoleon, whom 
he considered the living embodiment of the greatness and 
honor of France. Napoleon's dethronement he wanted 
to revenge on the Bourbons, in whose interest it had taken 
place, and who, in his opinion, were utterly unworthy to 
rule over the French nation. Louvel was a saddler, 

334 



DUG DE BERRY 

thirty-two years of age, debilitated in appearance, and 
considered a political fanatic by all who knew him. He 
had no family or relations except one sister, considerably 
older than himself, who had brought him up, and with 
whom he lived. He hated the Bourbons so intensely that 
in 1 8 14, when the royal family landed at Calais on their 
return from exile, he intended to make an attempt on the 
life of Louis the Eighteenth ; but the great enthusiasm 
of the people discouraged him. During all these years 
his wrath against the Bourbons had steadily grown, and 
he had never for a moment abandoned his plan of killing 
the whole family, — first the Due de Berry, then the Due 
d'Angouleme, then the Comte d'Artois, and finally the 
King. He considered De Berry the most important and 
the most dangerous man of the whole family because 
in him were centred the hopes of continuing the dynasty. 

He had been very persistent ; he had found employ- 
ment in the royal stables at Versailles, and whenever the 
Due de Berry was out hunting, he tried to find an oppor- 
tunity to get near him ; he frequently went to Paris and 
studied the advertisements of new plays or operas, ex- 
pecting that the Duke would attend a first performance. 
Twenty times he had been close to him on such occa- 
sions, but had always been prevented by the number of 
friends or attendants surrounding him from getting near 
enough to stab him, and stab him so well that he could 
not escape ; for everything depended on making a success 
of the attempt. 

After long and patient waiting he found his opportu- 
nity. It was during the last days of the carnival pre- 
ceding the season of Lent, in February, 1820. The grand 
masquerade ball at the opera was to take place on the 

335 



FAMOUS ASSASSINATIONS 

thirteenth, and it was a matter of absolute certainty that 
both the Due and the Duchesse de Berry, who were very 
fond of dancing, would attend it. When Louvel got up 
and dressed, he had a joyful presentiment that that day 
would bring him the realization of his long-cherished 
plan. He had in his possession two daggers of very su- 
perior quality, both sharp as razors and strong enough to 
penetrate flesh and sinew to the handle. He had studied 
the human anatomy well enough to know exactly where 
to strike his victim. He chose the smaller dagger of the 
two because he could more easily conceal it ; took his 
supper with good appetite and without betraying unusual 
agitation ; and then he started on his mission of death. 
He was promptly at his post at eight o'clock when the 
carriage of the Due de Berry drove up to the private en- 
trance reserved for the members of the royal family. The 
Duke was not expected so early in the evening, and conse- 
quently there were not so many attendants gathered near 
the entrance. The Duke jumped out of the carriage, and 
held out his arm to help the Duchess to alight. This was 
the proper moment for Louvel, if he wanted to commit the 
crime. He was on the point of rushing toward the Duke, 
when the smihng and lovely face of the Duchess appeared 
in the light of the lantern, and this sight paralyzed the 
arm of the murderer. He hesitated at the thought that 
his crime would plunge these two happy persons into 
nameless misery, and before he had recovered his equa- 
nimity, the Duke and his wife had disappeared behind 
the entrance door of the theatre. 

Louvel blamed himself for his faintness of heart and 
wanted to postpone the deed to some later day ; but the 
thought that he would have to go back to Versailles in 

336 



DUC DE BERRY 

a few days and that no such opportunity might offer itself 
for a long time, caused him to change his mind. That 
very night his plan must be executed, and either the Duke 
or himself should perish. For several hours he strolled 
through the streets in the neighborhood of the Opera 
House, went to the garden of the Palais Royal and back 
again, always keeping a watchful eye on the carriages 
that stood waiting for the call of their owners. At twenty 
minutes past eleven the carriage of the Due de Berry 
drove up to the entrance door. Louvel stood near by, 
almost hidden in the shadow of the wall, and entirely 
unnoticed by the attendants of the royal equipage. He 
was not kept waiting for a long time ; for a little acci- 
dent had occurred which induced the Duchess to return 
much sooner than they had anticipated. Their box at 
the Opera House was near that of the Due and Duchesse 
d'Orleans, who were also at the theatre that evening ; the 
two families were on terms of great intimacy, especially 
the two duchesses, both being Neapolitan princesses. At 
one of the intermissions of the performance De Berry and 
his wife went to the box of the Due d'Orleans for a 
friendly chat, but on their return to their own box, a door 
opposite was quickly opened and struck the Duchess 
with such violence that she felt very unwell. In her 
delicate condition (she was enceinte at the time) she 
thought it would be better for her to return home than 
to wait for the close of the performance and the mas- 
querade ball. The Duke therefore conducts his wife 
back to the carriage and lifts her into it ; the Comtesse 
de Betysi, her lady of honor, takes her seat by her side ; 
the duke shakes hands with both ladies and with a smil- 
ing " au revoir, I '11 be home soon," steps back from the 
22 337 



FAMOUS ASSASSINATIONS 

carriage. At this moment Louvel rushes forward, lays 
his left hand on the duke's right shoulder and plunges 
his dagger with so much force into the Duke's right side 
that the weapon remains in the wound. The Duke, 
mortally wounded, sinks to his knees, and utters a slight 
scream, more of surprise than of pain. As is usually 
the case in such assaults, the victim had rather felt the 
shock than the wound, and only when he reached out with 
his hand to the spot where he had been hurt, he found the 
handle of the dagger, and comprehended the meaning of 
the attack. He then cried out : " I am struck to death, 
I have been assassinated ! " and as he pulled the dagger 
from the wound, a stream of blood gushed forth. The 
Duke fainted in consequence of the loss of blood, and was 
carried back into the Opera House, where the Duchess 
followed him with loud screams. In the first confusion 
Louvel made his escape, but he was soon overtaken and 
brought back to the scene of the murder. The excitement 
and the indignation of the people were so great that he 
would have been torn to pieces but for the active pro- 
tection of the police and of the servants of the Due de 
Berry who were afraid that by his death his accomplices 
and accessories to the crime might be shielded. 

The most eminent surgeons of Paris were immediately 
summoned to the assistance of the Prince. But the 
wound was fatal, and all their efforts were in vain. In 
the presence of death the Due de Berry showed a very 
generous and magnanimous heart. He implored his 
wife, his brother, and all others surrounding his bed to 
use their influence with the King to get his murderer 
pardoned, and expressed his profound sorrow that he had 
been stabbed by a Frenchman. Up to his last moment 

338 



DUG DE BERRY 

the thought that his murderer would be executed in a 
cruel manner disturbed him, and when toward morning 
the King came to bid him farewell, he repeated his 
request that the murderer should be forgiven and not 
be executed ; but without eliciting the promise from his 
uncle. With this dying request for the life of his mur- 
derer on his lips, he expired very early in the morning. 
The sensation which the assassination of the Due 
de Berry created not only in Paris, but throughout 
France and Europe, was enormous. All parties equally 
condemned and lamented the crime. While the ultra- 
Royalists deplored in the murder the extinction of all 
their hopes for the establishment of the old Bourbon 
dynasty on a sure foundation, the liberal parties foresaw 
that it would put an end to the liberal tendencies of the 
government of Louis the Eighteenth. The sinister fore- 
bodings of the liberals were only too well founded. The 
Royalists tried at first to create the impression that the 
murder was but the symptom of a widespread conspiracy 
organized by the revolutionary elements of the kingdom 
against the royal family and the entire nobility, and 
boldly charged the liberal policy of the government as 
being the cause of it. In a session of the Chambers one 
of the deputies went even so far as to move the impeach- 
ment of M. Decazes, Minister of the Interior, as an 
accessory to the crime committed by Louvel. While 
the Chambers refused to act upon this infamous motion, 
the entire Royalistic press demanded the dismissal of 
Decazes, and the King reluctantly yielded to the uni- 
versal demand. " M. Decazes has slipped in the blood 
shed by Louvel's dagger," wrote Chateaubriand in com- 
menting on the dismissal of the liberal minister. And 

339 



FAMOUS ASSASSINATIONS 

that era of reaction and repression commenced which 
ten years later ended in the dethronement of the elder 
branch of the Bourbon dynasty and in the flight and 
exile of Charles the Tenth. The entire liberal party 
was punished for the crime of one fanatic. 

Louvel was tried before the Chamber of Peers. He 
pleaded guilty. He denied having any accomplices. He 
had conferred with nobody. He recognized the dagger 
as his own ; he gave his hatred and abhorrence of the 
Bourbon family as his only motive for the crime. He 
was convicted unanimously. He expressed no regret 
for what he had done, and died with stoical indifference. 
He was guillotined June 7, 1820. 



340 



CHAPTER XXII 
ABRAHAM LINCOLN 




ABRAHAM LINCOLN 



CHAPTER XXII 

ASSASSINATION OF ABRAHAM LINCOLN 
(April 14, I8G0) 

IN the annals of this nation no tragedy more pathetic 
has been recorded than the assassination of Abraham 
Lincoln, President of the United States. 

The Civil War which had divided the country into 
two hostile camps for four years and had laid waste 
the Southern States of the Union — or the Confederate 
States of America, to designate them by the name they 
adopted — was at an end. General Lee had surrendered 
the army of Virginia, the flow^er of the Confederate 
fighting forces, to General Grant at Appomattox Court 
House, and while General Johnston's army in North 
Carolina, and a few^ separate minor corps, still remained 
in the field, Lee's surrender was generally construed as 
the termination of the long and cruel war, and joy ruled 
supreme throughout the North. Liberty had triumphed, 
and four million slaves had been emancipated ! 

The surrender of Lee took place on the eighth of April, 
1865. On the following day President Lincoln visited 
the late capital of the Confederacy. He traversed the 
city in all directions, and everywhere he manifested 
the kindest disposition towards the South, and expressed 
the wish that all traces of the unfortunate war should 

343 



FAMOUS ASSASSINATIONS 

disappear as soon as possible and that cordial relations 
between the two sections of the country should be re- 
established at once. Very likely there was not a man 
in all the Northern States happier at the prospect of 
a lasting peace than Abraham Lincoln. His great and 
noble heart, sensitive as a woman's, had been bleeding 
for years at the sight of the gigantic fratricidal war, 
of which Providence had made him the most conspicuous 
figure. But five weeks before, he had entered upon his 
second presidential term, and in his inaugural address 
he had foreshadowed the policy of leniency and mod- 
eration which he intended to show to the " rebels " in 
case of the final victory of the Union armies. That 
address revealed the true inwardness of the great man; 
it was spoken with an eloquence peculiarly his own ; 
it was full of thought, sweetness, firmness, unswerving 
fidelity to duty, high morality made more impressive 
even by the simplicity and originality of language. At 
the same time it breathed a tenderness for the vanquished 
which made it almost an olive-branch tendered to those 
who were still in arms against the government and 
inviting them to return to the hearthstones of the nation 
of which they had been the favored sons and daughters 
for nearly a century. Although the triumph of the Union 
and its armies w^as already in sight as an event of the 
near future, nothing in that address indicated boastful- 
ness and supercilious pride. No arrogance, no pompous 
reference to the superiority of the North in heroism or 
exploits ! On the contrary, the President humbles himself 
before the decrees of the Almighty, he confesses the 
great national crime and the justice of the immense 
punishment. 

344 



ABRAHAM LINCOLN 

In the tone of sadness pervading the beautiful oration 
there is ahnost the presentiment of death and that su- 
preme resignation which sometimes takes possession of 
the soul on the verge of the grave. Already he had 
planned a proclamation of pardon, — a general amnesty, 
excluding none, a full and complete restoration of con- 
cord and brotherhood between the North and the South, 
when all at once the terrible news " Lincoln has been 
assassinated! Lincoln is dead!" flashed over the tele- 
graph wires and filled the whole North with terror. As 
if nothing was to be wanting to make this gigantic Civil 
War a tragedy to both sides, the man whose very name 
was the embodiment of liberty and the sym.bol of emanci- 
pation, and who more than any other man had contributed 
to the great triumph, had to succumb at the moment of 
victory. The election of Abraham Lincoln had given 
the signal for the organization and outbreak of the 
slaveholders' rebellion, and it was certainly a remarkable 
coincidence that the tolling of the church-bells in towns 
and cities through which Lincoln's funeral train slowly 
wended its way from the capital to his Western home was 
heard simultaneously with the news of the collapse of 
that rebellion and of the final extinction of human slavery 
on American soil. This coincidence was almost provi- 
dential, and if the great Emancipator could have chosen 
his own time for his death, he certainly could not have 
made a more appropriate and glorious choice. He be- 
came, so to speak, the hero of the great epic of the Civil 
War — one of the greatest the world had seen, — and 
his tragical death marked the conclusion of the strife. 
Iii the eyes of the fanatical advocates of the Southern 
cause Abraham Lincoln had always held this prominent 

345 



FAMOUS ASSASSINATIONS 

position as the principal author of the feud dividing the 
North and the South, and it is therefore not surprising 
that some of these fanatics had formed a conspiracy to 
assassinate him and some of his most intimate advisers. 
About a week after Mr. Lincohi's visit at Richmond 
this plot was to be executed. 

On the fourteenth of April, 1865, an especially brilliant 
performance was to be given at Ford's Theatre, Wash- 
ington, and Mr. Lincoln, General Grant, and Mr. Stanton, 
Secretary of War, were expected to be present ; in fact, 
the Washington newspapers of that date had announced 
that they would be present. But at the very last moment 
General Grant was compelled to leave Washington and 
go North. Mr. Stanton, being overburdened with busi- 
ness and unable to find time to go to the theatre, remained 
at his office, and only Mr. Lincoln went, accompanied 
by Mrs. Lincoln and a few friends. His appearance 
was the signal for a grand ovation. He seemed to follow 
the presentation of the play with close attention and great 
interest. The third act had just commenced, when the 
audience was startled by the sound of a pistol-shot pro- 
ceeding from the President's box. At the same moment 
a man appeared in the foreground of that box, jumped 
upon the balustrade, and thence down to the stage, shout- 
ing, "Sic semper tyrannis! '' In leaping from the box, 
one of the man's spurs got entangled with the flag with 
which Mr. Lincoln's box was decorated. He fell and 
broke a leg, but immediately recovering himself and 
getting on his feet he had sufficient presence of mind 
and power of will to make his escape. He knocked down 
those who tried to stop him, ran through the aisles of 
the scenery, jumped upon a horse which was kept in 

346 



ABRAHAM LINCOLN 

readiness for him by an accomplice, and disappeared in 
the darkness of the night. 

This man, who with hghtning-Hke rapidity had ap- 
peared on the stage and disappeared from it, was the 
murderer of Abraham Lincohi ; and the murder had been 
committed so suddenly that the great majority of the audi- 
ence, even after his flight, were in profound ignorance of 
what had happened. It was then only that the cries of 
horror, the loud lamentations of Mrs. Lincoln and of the 
other persons in the President's box conveyed to the awe- 
stricken audience the news of the tragedy which had 
occurred in their midst. The President, shot through the 
head from behind, had lost consciousness immediately, 
and the blood oozed slowly from the wound. However, 
life was not extinct, and immediately the hope arose that 
Mr. Lincoln's life might be saved. He was carried into 
a neighboring house, and the best surgeons were called 
to his assistance. But alas ! the murderer's ball having 
passed through the cerebellum had pierced the cerebrum, 
and the wound was fatal beyond all hope. Mr. Lincoln 
died early in the morning without having regained con- 
scioitsness. The North had lost its greatest citizen and 
the South its best friend. 

While this murder was being committed at Ford's 
Theatre, another assassin entered the residence of Secre- 
tary of State William H. Seward, who had been seriously 
injured by an accident a few days before. The assassin 
pretended to be the bearer of a medical prescription, 
and demanded to be admitted to the room of the patient. 
The servant refused to admit him, but was rudely pushed 
aside, whereupon the visitor, who evidently was familiar 

347 



FAMOUS ASSASSINATIONS 

with the location of the rooms, burst into the one where 
Mr. Seward was lying ill in bed, rushed toward him, 
seriously wounded Mr. Seward's son, who threw himself 
in his way, and thereupon engaged the invalid in a 
furious combat, stabbing him several times. In spite of 
his disability, the Secretary defended himself bravely and 
fought with the courage of despair, until at last the 
assassin, after having badly cut and disfigured his face, 
made his escape. 

As has been stated already, the plan of the conspir- 
ators was to kill not only President Lincoln, but other 
prominent men, such as Andrew Johnson, the new Vice- 
President, Secretary Seward, Secretary Stanton, and 
General Grant. On several occasions the assassins had 
been on the point of perpetrating these murders, but 
always unforeseen circumstances had occurred and pre- 
vented them. At last this gala performance at Ford's 
Theatre seemed to invite them to execute their plot, and 
they resolved to assassinate Lincoln, Grant, and Stanton 
at the theatre, and Seward and Johnson at their private 
residences. By removing these five men the assassins 
hoped to decapitate the republic itself and imagined 
that very likely during the terror and confusion which 
these assassinations would cause, the Southern rebels 
would take up arms again and capture Washington city. 
But only one of the five victims designated was killed — 
alas ! it was the most illustrious one of the five — while 
the others escaped owing to fortuitous circumstances. 

As to the murderer of Lincoln, who was identified as 
John Wilkes Booth, it was ascertained that he had been 
inspired by an implacable and sincere fanaticism. Son 
of a celebrated English tragedian who had lived several 

348 



ABRAHAM LINCOLN 

years in the United States, John Vv'ilkes Booth was him- 
self an actor of considerable ability, who had frequently 
played on the very stage which he was to desecrate by 
one of the most infamous assassinations of modern times. 
Young, handsome, eloquent, and audacious as he was, 
Booth had a certain prestige among his companions and 
great success with the ladies of his profession. He was 
an enthusiastic Democrat, became a prominent member 
of the " Knights of the Golden Circle," and believed in 
the divine origin of the institution of slavery. He had 
been among the lynchers of John Brown and frequently 
boasted of his participation in that crime. He often 
expressed the wish that all such abolitionists should die 
on the gallows. He and some others, equally extreme 
in their views on the slavery question, met frequently 
at the house of a Mrs. Surratt, who was also fanatically 
devoted to the Southern cause, and concocted there the 
plot to murder the President and his associates. 

After having performed that part of the plot which 
he had reserved for himself — the assassination of the 
President — with almost incredible boldness, Booth fled 
to Virginia. He had intended to continue his flight until 
he had reached the extreme South, and possibly Mexico, 
but his injury prevented him from carrying out this plan. 
In company with one of his accomplices he hid himself 
in an isolated barn on the banks of the Rappahannock, 
hoping that as soon as the first storm of indignation had 
blown over, the search for the murderer v/ould gradually 
relax, if not cease altogether, and that he would then have 
an opportunity to escape. But in this calculation he was 
mistaken. A roving detachment of federal soldiers dis- 
covered him in his hiding-place, during the night of the 

349 



FAMOUS ASSASSINATIONS 

twenty-sixth of April. His companion, realizing that all 
resistance would be useless, surrendered immediately. 
But Booth wanted to sell his life as dearly as possible. 
He tried to break out and escape from his pursuers, but 
a pistol-shot brought him down with a fatal wound in his 
head, from which he soon afterwards died. The assassin 
who had assaulted and seriously wounded Secretary 
Seward had, a few days before, been captured at Mrs. 
Surratt's house. 

The effect of Mr. Lincoln's assassination on the people 
of the North was indescribable. It filled their hearts 
with bitterness and their minds with thoughts of revenge. 
It was averred that the murderer in crossing the stage 
of the theatre and defiantly brandishing a long knife had 
exclaimed : " The South is avenged ! " This exclama- 
tion seemed to impHcate the whole South, or at least its 
government, in the murderous act of Booth. The natural 
consequence was that the people of the North, who imme- 
diately after the surrender of Lee's army were inclined 
to great leniency toward the vanquished and willing to 
receive them back into the Union with open arms, sud- 
denly turned against them. The army and the govern- 
ment circles, and in fact the entire population of the 
national capital, who had learned to love Mr. Lincoln, 
demanded the most severe punishment for the rebels. 
Then began the long and tedious work of reconstruction, 
retarded by party spirit and retaliatory measures on both 
sides. It was terminated to the satisfaction of both only 
during the last few years, when the sons of the South 
fought shoulder to shoulder with the sons of the North 
for the deliverance of Cuba from Spanish oppression 
under the glorious banner of the Union. But how often 

350 



ABRAHAM LINCOLN 

during these years of contention, was the great man 
missed whose truly humane spirit would have contributed 
so much to bring the discordant elements of both sec- 
tions together in fraternal harmony and mutual respect, 
and whose hands had penned the noblest document of 
the nineteenth century — the proclamation of emanci- 
pation — setting free four million slaves. Such deeds 
as his can never be forgotten. 

The assassination did a great deal for Mr. Lincoln's 
standing in history. It added the halo of martyrdom to 
his renown as a statesman, and it has made him a national 
hero, who, next to Washington — or with Washington 
— holds the highest place in the estimation of the Ameri- 
can people. It is doubtful whether Abraham Lincoln, 
if he had not crowned his career with a martyr's death, 
would have held this place. It had especially the effect 
of wiping out an impression which many had formed of 
Mr. Lincoln's character, and which, during the first years 
of his presidential term, lowered him considerably in the 
eyes of the people. His Southern enemies and detractors 
made a great deal of Mr. Lincoln's "undignified bearing," 
his " lack of tact," " his mania for telling funny stories, 
in and out of season," and the Northern Democrats were 
only too busy repeating and circulating these stories, 
because they could not forgive Lincoln for having beaten 
their idol, Stephen Arnold Douglas. 

Mr. Lincoln's distinction was his strong originality 
and self-reliance. As a young man, with no adviser to 
guide him through the hardships and embarrassments of 
life, he took counsel with his own mind, which fortu- 
nately was of peculiar depth, rich in resources, — and the 
advice he received from this consultation, the instruction 

351 



FAMOUS ASSASSINATIONS 

he gained by this appeal to the fund of his own knowl- 
edge and experience served him splendidly as schooling 
for the task which was in store for him. And joined 
to this self-education nature had bestowed on him some 
of her rarest gifts, — humor, kind, genial, and peculiarly 
humane, blending tears with laughter, and a mother-wit 
always ready to make fun of his own misfortunes and 
shortcomings, and to joke away any embarrassing situ- 
ation in which either untoward circumstances or his own 
mistakes might have placed him.. In addition to all this 
he possessed that truly American characteristic — shrewd- 
ness, which far from being an objectionable quality with 
him, was modified by his kindness of heart and his moral 
uprightness. 

In that great and distinctly English book, Robinson 
Crusoe, we find a young Englishman in consequence 
of a shipwreck thrown upon a deserted island in mid- 
ocean. He is cut off from civilization and its resources 
and thrown upon his own ingenuity to carve out a liv- 
ing for himself which, to a degree at least, comes up 
to the experience which he has had while living in civ- 
ilized society. A few tools and instruments which he 
saves from the wrecked ship are the only things to assist 
him in the building up of his future life, yet by indus- 
try, shrewdness, and perseverance he really succeeds in 
making that life not only tolerable, but to a degree com- 
fortable. Possibly the trying circumstances in which 
young Robinson was placed whetted and sharpened his 
wits, strengthened his nerve, and inspired him with 
enough confidence to become equal to his difficult task; 
at all events, he succeeded, and the book narrating his 
experience, his trials, and his sufferings forms one of 

352 



ABRAHAM LINCOLN 

the most delightful and at the same time one of the most 
instructive books for young- and old ever written. Its 
educational value can hardly be overestimated. It may 
be said that Robinson Crusoe is but a novel, and that his 
adventures and achievements all originated in the fertile 
mind of Daniel Defoe. But even if it was so, which is 
by no means proven, the feat of Defoe's genius shows 
that a young man of strong character and full of re- 
sources, with an ideal placed before his mental eye, can 
find the means to raise himself to a higher level than he 
could have reached under ordinary circumstances and 
without the stimulating influence of personal hardships 
and pressing necessity. 

It was so with Abraham Lincoln. The means of 
education which the wild West offered to him were of 
the most elementary kind, but his innate genius and 
energy knew how to make them serviceable to the high 
aim and to the ideals which he had proposed to himself. 
The loneliness of the primeval forests in which his child- 
hood was passed fostered the tendency to reverie and 
thoughtfulness which formed one of the principal traits 
of his character. An American boy in the full meaning 
of the word he learned to love and appreciate that Union 
from which the West expected its development, and on 
which it depended as on the natural source of its future 
greatness. As if to prepare him for the great part he 
was to act in American history, he was made to see at 
an early day the wrongs and cruelties of slavery. His 
pure mind, which had been strengthened and refined by 
immediate contact with nature, felt the stain which soiled 
the American name and flag. As he went down the 
Mississippi river on a flatboat and became witness of 
23 353 



FAMOUS ASSASSINATIONS 

a slave-auction, where family ties were brutally torn 
asunder, he vowed to himself to do his share as a man 
and citizen to wipe out that wrong against humanity. 
How nobly he redeemed that vow and how cruelly he 
suffered for redeeming it, we have told in the preceding 
pages, and the crown of immortality is his just reward. 
If we should wish to compare the great martyr-presi- 
dent with any historical personage of preceding ages, it 
would be Henry the Fourth of France. While unques- 
tionably there are many differences in their traits of 
character, they have nevertheless so many traits in com- 
mon that the comparison is, in our opinion, a decidedly 
just one. Both were placed in leading positions at a 
time when their country was torn up by civil war. In 
the case of Henry the Fourth religion, or rather Protes- 
tantism, was the cause of the fratricidal strife ; in the 
case of Abraham Lincoln it was negro slavery. Both 
were enlisted in the cause of humanity and progress. It 
is true, Henry the Fourth renounced Protestantism to 
win a crown, in the possession of which he alone could 
hope to render immortal service to the Protestant Church 
and the principle upon which it is founded, religious 
toleration ; and by the promulgation of the Edict of 
Nantes he gloriously performed the historical task which 
Providence had allotted to him. Abraham Lincoln was 
willing to make any sacrifice for the maintenance of the 
American Union, for only as President of the United 
States and as conqueror of the rebellious South, could he 
hope to become the champion of the abolition of negro 
slavery. He was fortunate enough to live through the 
gigantic Civil War, and Clio, the Muse of History, has 
entered in imperishable letters on the asbestos leaves of 

354 



ABRAHAM LINCOLN 

our national annals his immortal declaration of the eman- 
cipation of the black race. As two great reformers they 
will both live in history, — Henry the Fourth, as the 
embodiment of the principle of religious toleration, Lin- 
coln as the evangelist of negro emancipation. It is a 
strange coincidence that these two great men were en- 
dowed by nature with so many analogous traits, but 
rarely found in other great men. Both had a keen relish 
for humor, fun, and wit, and indulged this taste under 
the most trying circumstances ; both were lenient and 
forgiving to a fault ; both displayed statesmanship and 
executive ability of a high order ; and if Henry the 
Fourth has won greater laurels as a warrior, Lincoln has 
crowned his great life with the glory of being a great 
orator. Mankind has grown better by having produced 
these two men. 



355 



CHAPTER XXIII 
ALEXANDER THE SECOND OF RUSSIA 




ALEXANDER II. 



CHAPTER XXIII 

ASSASSINATION OF ALEXANDER THE SECOND 
OF RUSSIA 

(March 13, 1881) 

THE assassination of Abraham Lincoln leads up to 
that of the other great emancipator of the nine- 
teenth century, Alexander the Second of Russia, which 
occurred on the thirteenth of March, 1881, and which 
filled the world with horror. 

In one of Goethe's most famous poems a magician's 
apprentice, in the absence of his learned master, sets 
free the secret powers of nature which his master 
can control by a magical formula. The apprentice has 
overheard the formula, and has appropriated it to his 
own use ; but lo ! when the apprentice wants to get rid 
of the powers he has let loose, he has forgotten the 
magic words by which to banish them, and miserably 
perishes in the attempt. The poem is symbolical of the 
life and experience of Czar Alexander the Second of 
Russia. xA.s a young man, enthusiastic and desirous to 
promote his country's welfare, he set loose the turbulent 
and revolutionary powers slumbering in his gigantic em- 
pire, and they grew to such enormous proportions that 
even his power, great though it was, was insufficient to 
curb them ; finally he paid with his life for his attempt 

359 



FAMOUS ASSASSINATIONS 

to confer blessings upon his subjects. In order to com- 
prehend the difficuhies which confronted Alexander the 
Second on his accession, it is necessary to take a retro- 
spect of the preceding reign. 

The Emperor Nicholas the First died on the second 
of March, 1855. He had reigned twenty-nine years and 
nine months. During all these years he had ruled his 
gigantic empire with an iron hand and had stood before 
the world as the most brilliant as well as the most im- 
perious ruler who had sat upon the throne of the Czars 
since the death of Peter the Great. He was the model 
for the other sovereigns of Europe, and his policy was 
adopted with almost sersale humility by the monarchs of 
Austria and Prussia, the former of whom he reinstated 
on his throne by overthrowing the Hungarian revolution, 
while the latter was allied to him by ties of marriage. His 
dislike for reform and " the modern spirit " was caused, 
it is said, b)- the sad experience he had made but a few 
weeks after his accession, when a rebellion of the Imperial 
Guards in his own capital compelled him to throw shot 
and shell into his own regiments, and to quell a wide- 
spread conspiracy by the severest measures. At that 
time cheers coming from the ranks for " Constantine and 
the Constitution " had made the very name of a consti- 
tution odious to him. He might not have taken the 
demonstration so seriously if he had known that the 
soldiers, on being asked by their officers to cheer for 
Constantine and the Constitution had asked : " WTio is 
the Constitution?" and were told that she was Constan- 
tine's wife, whereupon the soldiers cheered lustily. At 
all events, Nicholas, who had intended to introduce a 
number of Western reforms, took suddenly a great aver- 

360 



ALEXANDER THE SECOND 

sion to anything which deviated in the least from the 
most autocratic form of government ; he punished the 
sHghtest disagreement in poHtical opinion or the most 
timid opposition to his imperial will as an act of rebeUion. 
The whole system of government had been fashioned 
upon a half Asiatic, half European model ; it combined 
the absolute — almost divine — power of the Oriental 
ruler with a formidable and well-drilled bureaucracy 
blindly obedient to the Czar and knowing no other law 
than his will. 

Nicholas the First was a man of superior intelligence, 
of indomitable will, and of great vigor of mind, which 
enabled him to pay strict attention to the different depart- 
ments of the public service. His most effective instru- 
ment was the third section of the Czar's personal bureau, 
— a secret political police by which he overawed the 
empire and whose very name caused terror in the heart 
and home of every Russian family. \Miosoever was 
unfortunate enough to fall under the suspicion of this 
terrible Hermandad — more cruel and more vindictive 
than the Spanish Inquisition — might just as well resign 
himself at once to his fate, — life-long exile to Siberia or 
a secret execution, most probably by strangulation, in one 
of the prisons of Russia. It was the office of this secret 
police, which reported directly to the Emperor, not only 
to ferret out crime and bring criminals to justice, but to 
protect the subjects of the Czar from contact with hurt- 
ful foreign influences, to confiscate books and newspapers 
from abroad, to open and read letters, and to learn family 
secrets which might be used against the correspondents 
or their friends. Everything, in fact, which the imperial 
government could think of to cut off Russia from the 

361 



FAMOUS ASSASSINATIONS 

current of European ideas, to prevent its subjects from 
receiving a liberal education at the universities, to expand 
their minds by travelling abroad, to become familiar with 
the great political and philosophical questions of the day 
by a study of literature and newspapers, was done with 
rigorous care by the police and approved by the Czar. 
Occasionally the Emperor became indignant at the 
venality and corruption of high public officials ; but he 
did not see that this venality and corruption were but the 
logical consequence of the system of despotism and 
Byzantinism which his will imposed even on the highest 
members of the aristocracy. His smile, his praise, was 
the highest distinction, the highest aim of the ambition 
of the aristocracy, and for this servile subjection to the 
imperial will they compensated themselves by unbridled 
licentiousness and beastly excesses, and by robbing the 
public treasury. Because it was well known that the 
Emperor looked with suspicion on the universities as 
nurseries of liberal or revolutionary ideas, the nobility 
did not send their sons thither, for fear that the young 
men m_ight become infected with these ideas, and that 
transportation to Siberia might suddenly interrupt their 
studies. The nobility, therefore, deemed it more prudent 
to send the lads to court or to the military schools, where 
they were safe at least from the contagion of European 
liberalism. It is really a wonder that, with such an or- 
ganization of society and with a system of police sur- 
veillance perhaps never equalled in the world, with a 
Damocles' sword always suspended over their heads, 
there still remained a number of liberal-minded men, who 
never abandoned the hope of better days, never renounced 
their dream that the time would come for Russia, as it 

362 



ALEXANDER THE SECOND 

had come for western Europe, to enter socially and polit- 
ically the family of enlightened nations, blessed with 
liberal institutions and freed from the despotism of semi- 
Oriental rulers. These liberal-minded men and true 
patriots — professors of the universities, literary men, 
and a very small number of young noblemen — lived 
mostly at Moscow, where the distance from the observing 
eye of the ruler and his court saved them from detection, 
although their secret influence pervaded the whole empire, 
and kept the flame of liberalism burning in the hearts of 
the intellectual elite. While Nicholas had thus succeeded 
in building up an Eastern despotism on the banks of the 
Neva, he endeavored at the same time to impress Europe 
with the idea of his unrivalled power. His army was 
considered one of the best in Europe, and the immense 
population of his empire — larger than that of any two 
of the other great powers — gave him almost unlimited 
material for recruits. The generals commanding these 
armies were also renowned throughout Europe. They 
had won their laurels in the battles against the revolu- 
tionary armies of Poland and Hungary, in conquering 
the warlike population of the Caucasus, and subjecting 
large territories in western Asia to the white eagle of the 
Czar. The Russian diplomats had the reputation of 
being the shrewdest in Europe, and had either by secret 
treaties or by matrimonial alliances succeeded in making 
Russian influence preponderant on the continent of 
Europe. The Emperor Nicholas stood, therefore, on a 
commanding height when he provoked the great western 
powers of Europe, together with Turkey, to mortal com- 
bat. It was a challenge born in arrogance and political 
short-sightedness, and it found its deserved rebuke in a 

363 



FAMOUS ASSASSINATIONS 

total defeat of the Russian armies and a thorough humih- 
ation of the Russian Emperor. Nicholas ought to have 
known that, in engaging in war with the western powers, 
he not only endangered his military prestige, but put to 
the test also his system of domestic administration, based 
entirely on his autocratic will, and silently, although re- 
luctantly, submitted to by his subjects, as a tribute to his 
dominant position in Europe. When by the disasters of 
the Crimean War that position was lost, when it became 
clear to the Russian people that the Emperor was not 
absolutely the universal dictator of Europe, not only his 
military prestige was destroyed, but his system of do- 
mestic government lost immensely in public estimation. 
Nicholas felt this double humiliation so keenly that it was 
just as much personal chagrin as physical disease which 
caused his death even before the war was over. 

It was therefore a heavy burden which his successor, 
Alexander the Second, assumed when he ascended the 
throne on the second of March, 1855. His first duty — 
and it was a painful and humiliating duty — was to termi- 
nate the Crimean War by accepting the unfavorable terms 
demanded by the western powers. In the exhausted con- 
dition of the Russian treasury, and after the disorgani- 
zation of the Russian armies by a series of disastrous 
defeats, nothing was left to the young Czar but to submit 
to the inevitable. In doing so he also signed the sentence 
of death of the autocratic rule established by his father. 
A general clamor for reform, for greater freedom and 
more liberal laws arose, and Alexander the Second was 
only too willing to grant them. He was liberal-minded 
himself and kind-hearted, and he was anxious to let the 
Russian nation partake of the progress of European civ- 

364 



ALEXANDER THE SECOND 

ilization. He opened the Russian universities to all who 
desired a higher education. He reduced to a reasonable 
rate the price for passports, which had been enormous 
under Nicholas, he rescinded the burdensome press laws, 
and modified the law subjecting all publications to a most 
rigorous government supervision ; he issued an amnesty 
to Siberian exiles, including many who had been banished 
for political crimes ; and he finally crowned this system 
of liberal measures by the emancipation of many million 
serfs, freeing them from their previous condition of terri- 
torial bondage and placing them directly under govern- 
ment authority. Important changes were also made in 
the personnel of the dififerent departments of the public 
service ; a thorough investigation of these departments 
proved that the grossest abuses existed throughout the 
empire. The army magazines were filled with chalk in- 
stead of flour, and officers who had been dead for twenty 
years still remained on the pension lists. Numerous other 
frauds and depredations were disclosed, which were eat- 
ing up the public revenues, and which had been practised 
for years by high officials who had enjoyed the protection 
of the late Czar. The reforms which Alexander the 
Second introduced did not find favor with the officials, 
and the emancipation of the serfs fully estranged the no- 
bility, whose interests were damaged by the loss of their 
slaves. The Czar therefore soon found himself between 
two fires : the Liberals were immoderate in their demands 
for still greater liberty, and the nobility attacked the gov- 
ernment for having granted those liberal measures, pre- 
dicting that the new policy would terminate in disaster, 
revolution, and assassination. 

It should not be supposed, however, that Alexander 
365 



FAMOUS ASSASSIXATIOXS 

was liberal-minded in the American sense of the word ; 
he was not, — not even as liberalism is understood in the 
western states of Europe. What .he tried to be during the 
first years of his reig^n was a liberal-minded autocrat like 
Frederick the Great of Prussia and Joseph the Second of 
Austria : but tlie slightest attempt to limit his authority 
by any constitution he resented as a personal insult. 
When the landed proprietors of the province of Tver 
sent him a petition worded in the most humble language, 
in which their desire for a constitution was expressed, he 
flew into a rage, and sent the two leaders of the meeting 
to Siberia. But he was incHned to grant as a personal 
favor what some of his subjects demjmded as their right, 
which they wanted guaranteed by law. The system of 
police espionage and persecution ceased, because Alexan- 
der hated police denunciations. This change had almost 
immediately its marked effect on public life; the people 
commenced breathing easier. The nightmare of Siberian 
exile or perpetual imprisonment ceased haunting their 
minds. 

After a few years Russian society seemed to have 
changed its character, its ideas, its manners ; it showed 
its independence openly, and acted as though its liberties 
and rights were safely secured by a magna charta or con- 
stitution. Many thousands of Russian noblemen went to 
France and England, no longer simply to amuse them- 
selves and to live well, but to study western institutions 
or to place their sons in the colleges ; and no nationality 
has a greater faculty of assimilation than the Russian. 
The ideas of central and western Europe found ready and 
intelligent reception in their minds. Hundreds of news- 
papers, periodicals, and magazines were founded, and 

366 



ALEXANDER THE SECOND 

most of them found numerous and eager readers. Some 
of these papers became a real power and shaped pubUc 
opinion to a remarkable degree. While direct criticism 
of Russian affairs and Russian institutions was prohib- 
ited, the newspapers nevertheless found a way to keep 
their readers posted on all public events and public men. 
They published sketches of every-day life in which every 
particular was true except the names, and in this human 
comedy, scarcely veiled by the transparent fiction, the 
governors of provinces, the generals of the army, and 
especially the directors of the police, and all the high 
government officials were exhibited in their true charac- 
ter; their frauds were exposed, their arbitrary actions, 
their abuses of power, and their excesses were de- 
nounced. The reading public were in the secret, and the 
daily and weekly newspapers became a regular chroniquc 
scandaleitse without subjecting the editors or publishers 
to prosecution. 

While these periodicals, published in Russia under the 
very eyes of the Czar and of Russian censors, did their 
share in undermining the authority of the government, 
there was another class of Russian periodicals, published 
at Paris, London, and Leipsic, which were free from the 
embarrassing observation of Russian censors, and which 
consequently could speak openly, mention names, attack 
high officials and the imperial family. The most famous 
of the editors of these periodicals (which were printed 
abroad, but had nearly their entire reading public in 
Russia) was Alexander Herzen, the famous editor and 
publisher of "The Bell" (Kolokos). Mr. Herzen was 
a man of great talent, and his newspaper soon gained an 
influence in Russia which became a real danger to the 

3(^7 



FAMOUS ASSASSINATIONS 

government. " The Bell " did more for the spread of 
socialism in Russia than all other publications combined. 
It was more active and more successful than all other 
newspapers in showing up the official wrong-doers of the 
empire and breeding among the masses contempt for the 
government and its officers, because every Russian who 
could read, read " The Bell," and got his information 
about Russian afifairs from Alexander Herzen. The mys- 
tery always was : How did " The Bell " get into Russia? 
since the government made a most relentless war on the 
paper. Nobody could ever tell ; the most searching in- 
vestigations of the secret police failed to discover the 
mysterious channel through which the dangerous paper 
found its way into Russia. As soon as it had crossed the 
frontier, secret printing establishments, unknown to the 
police, struck off" many thousand copies and circulated 
them gratuitously throughout the empire. It was evident 
that a socialistic or revolutionary committee was identi- 
fied with its circulation in Russia. 

But the most notable result brought about by " The 
Bell " was the change of attitude in which the Russian 
government was placed, and (since the government was 
the Czar) the attitude in which the Czar suddenly found 
himself toward his subjects. The imperial government, 
under Nicholas, has been bold and aggressive ; under 
Alexander the Second it was placed on the defensive ; it 
was compelled to plead with public opinion in order to 
clear itself of the attacks made against it, and when these 
pleas failed to convince, it resorted again to the old re- 
pressive and despotic measures which were even more 
odious from having become obsolete for a number of 
years. Autocracy, which in the hands of a strong man 

368 



ALEXANDER THE SECOND 

like Nicholas the First had been a source of strength and 
protection, became in the hands of a weak and vacillating 
man a source of weakness and danger. Public opinion, 
which under Nicholas had been silent, because it dared 
not assert itself, turned openly against Alexander, who 
had removed the bars which kept it in check and the fear 
which repressed its utterances. 

It is time here to refer shortly to the origin and growth 
of a political doctrine which at this time appeared in 
Russia and which has had a great and pernicious influ- 
ence on Russian history, — Nihilism. The name appears 
for the first time in the famous novel of Ivan Turgenieff, 
" Fathers and Sons," and designates a political pro- 
gramme which has found its most numerous and most 
enthusiastic adherents among the young men and women 
of Russia, especially of the educated and professional 
classes, the students and professors of the universities. 
It first manifested its existence shortly after the death of 
the Emperor Nicholas, when, through the liberal measures 
of his successor, the high schools and academies of the 
empire were opened to the people, when the universities 
were filled with thousands of young students, eager to 
learn and imbibe philosophical and political principles 
which until then had been unknown to them. The Nihil- 
istic party aimed at a total regeneration of society and at 
the destruction of its present organization in state, church, 
and social institutions, and it found its explanation and 
excuse in the widespread corruption, brutality, and des- 
potism of the officials. It is a mistake to confound the 
Nihilists with the Liberals or even with the Socialists who 
are advocating reforms or the abolition of certain politi- 
24 369 



FAMOUS ASSASSIXATIOXS 

cal or social abuses. The Nihilists are not aiming at 
refonns: they simply demand the overthrow and com- 
plete annihilation of the existing social system with all 
its institutions, until nothing (nihil) remains standing. 
The reconstruction of societ\\ based upon principles of 
reason and justice, is their ideal ; but they leave the real- 
ization of this ideal to future generations, and advocate 
for the present the employment of all means, even the 
most reprehensible, for the attainment of their immediate 
aim. The originators and great apostles of the new party 
were Alexander Herzen and Bakunin, who imbued the 
young persons of both sexes with an implacable hatred 
for the present system of government and social organi- 
zation. They made not only despotism but all authority 
odious. 

The first public manifestation of Xihilism was Kara- 
kasow's attempt on the life of Alexander the Second in 
1866. It failed, and at the trial it appeared that the at- 
tempt was not founded on individual h.ostility, but on 
abhorrence of autliority in general. The attempt on the 
life of General Trepow, minister of police, in 1878, 
showed the dangerous and rapid progress which the party 
had made. The assailant was an educated young woman, 
Verz Sassoulitch, who wanted to revenge official injus- 
tice by punishing one of its most prominent representa- 
tives. She was acquitted by a jury at St. Petersburg on 
February 5, 1878 : and this acquittal, brought about 
by the ostentatious manifestation of the s\nnpathy of 
the higher classes during her trial, caused a sensation 
tliroughout Euroj)e. The Czar himself was enraged at 
the result of the trial, and devoted himself to the extemii- 
nation of Xihilism by all means in his power. The issue 

370 



ALEXANDER THE SECOND 

had then been clearly made. Nihilism had by that time 
become very aggressive. It was no longer satisfied with 
preaching a philosophical doctrine, but it openly advo- 
cated a policy of murder and incendiarism, in order to 
frighten and disorganize society, and especially public 
officials. On the other hand, the government resorted to 
the most rigorous measures to exterminate the Nihilists 
wherever they could be found. 

Alexander the Second suffered terribly when he be- 
came aware, too late for him to master it, of the new 
intellectual movement and its political results in his em- 
pire. The situation was the more painful to him, because 
his own conscience as well as the old Russian party held 
him principally responsible for it. It was he who had set 
free that liberal propagandism which had culminated in 
this terrible agitation for the destruction of society, and 
which had entirely outgrown his control. Alexander's 
mental condition, on this discovery, would form an inter- 
esting subject for the psychologist. From the day when 
he began to reign as an enthusiastic, well-intentioned 
man of thirty-seven, to the days of his disappointments 
as a ruler and reformer, ending with one of the most 
terrible catastrophes of modern times, his career chal- 
lenges, for adequate treatment, the genius of a Shakes- 
peare. No wonder that he became despondent and 
thought of abdication, — a thought which reappeared 
with ever increasing force to the end of his reign. 

Nor was this feeling of discouragement and weariness 
of life caused exclusively by the fear of personal danger ; 
on the contrary, Alexander knew only too well that he 
was not the only object of Nihilistic persecution, but that 
all those dear to his heart and also those whom he lion- 

371 



FAMOUS ASSASSINATIONS 

ored with his confidence and friendship were equally 
exposed. 

The attempt on the life of General Trepow had still 
another effect on the Czar. It efifectually eradicated from 
his mind his previous predilection for liberal reforms and 
a paternal government ; it ■ stirred up a feeling of resent- 
ment and hatred against revolutionists, reformers, and 
liberals which had never been noticed in him before, and 
which manifested itself in the most severe measures cf 
repression. To his great chagrin he saw soon that these 
measures were utterly unavailing to repress the spirit of 
rebellion in the empire and in his own capital. Nihilism 
spread with the unconquerable fury of a contagious epi- 
demic and defied all measures of the authorities to check 
it. On the twenty-first of February, 1879, Prince Kra- 
potkine. Governor of Charkow, was assassinated ; and 
shortly after, attempts were made on the lives of Gen- 
eral Drentelen, a great favorite at court, and of Count 
Lewis Melikow, Secretary of the Interior. 

Alexander himself was exposed to a number of mur- 
derous attempts. His escape from the one made by 
Alexander Sokoloflf, a school-teacher of Toropetz, in the 
district of Pskoff, is almost miraculous. On the four- 
teenth of April, 1879, at nine o'clock in the morning, the 
Emperor, seated in an open carriage, was waiting in front 
of the palace of Prince Gortschakofif, his Secretary of 
State. Sokolofif approached the carriage without having 
been noticed by the attendants. He was well dressed, wore 
a military cap, and looked like a retired officer. Standing 
within a few feet of Alexander, he suddenly pulled forth 
from under his coat a revolver, and, in rapid succession, 

372 



ALEXANDER THE SECOND 

fired four shots at him, all of which, however, missed 
their aim. The would-be murderer was immediately 
overpowered by the Emperor's attendants ; but during- 
the struggle he fired a fifth shot which severely wounded 
one of the servants. Sokoloff had two capsules contain- 
ing poison, fastened with wax under his armpits. He 
succeeded in swallowing one of them before he could be 
prevented, but an antidote was immediately administered 
and saved his life. He was sentenced to death and exe- 
cuted without having confessed the motive of his assault 
or given the names of any accomplices. 

After this attempt the most vigorous and ingenious 
measures were taken for the Emperor's protection. 
When, in the summer of the same year, Alexander trav- 
elled from St. Petersburg to Livadia, he was taken to 
the depot in an iron carriage and escorted by four com- 
panies of cavalry. Moreover the depot was surrounded 
by several regiments of infantry and cavalry, and nobody 
was permitted to approach it. Similar measures of pre- 
caution had been taken at all railway stations along 
the route where the imperial train was expected to stop. 
At all railroad crossings police officers and detectives 
had been stationed to prevent even the possibility of a 
collision with the imperial train. Another train filled en- 
tirely with the body-guards and high police officials pre- 
ceded, at a short distance, the Emperor and his family. 
A large detective force was stationed along the whole 
route, and scoured the country for miles on both sides 
of the railroad, making it impossible for anybody to ap- 
proach the track without being closely observed. At 
night, the entire route was lit up on either side with 
immense bonfires built at short distances in order to make 

373 



FAMOUS ASSASSINATIONS 

the surveillance of the road as complete during the night 
as during the day. In order not to delay the imperial 
train on the road, all other trains were stopped for days, 
and the most stringent orders were issued that no per- 
sons should approach either the depots or any part of the 
railroad. 

That travelling under such circumstances was not a 
pleasure, and would make a man exceedingly nervous, 
if not absolutely ill, may well be imagined. But in spite 
of these and other precautions almost passing human 
belief, a new attempt on the Emperor's life was made 
during his return trip from Livadia to Moscow. On the 
first of December, 1879, Alexander had arrived at Mos- 
cow safely ; but about ten or fifteen minutes later a mine 
exploded, which had been established under the railroad 
track in the immediate vicinity of the depot. The ex- 
plosion occurred at the moment when the second imperial 
train was passing. It demolished the baggage car and 
threw seven or eight passenger cars off the track. For- 
tunately nobody was seriously hurt. The Emperor and 
his suite were on the first train this time, while the 
Nihilists had supposed they would be on the second. 

Less than three months later, on the seventeenth of 
February, 1880, the Czar was in much greater danger at 
St. Petersburg. At about seven o'clock p. m., on that day, 
as he was on the point of entering the dining-room of his 
palace, suddenly a terrible dynamite explosion occurred 
underneath the hall occupied by the Imperial Guards. 
The explosion was so violent that all the windows in that 
wing of the palace were shattered, the ceilings of the 
rooms in the lower story and of the hall of the guards 
were full of holes, and the floors torn to pieces, while the 

374 



ALEXANDER THE SECOND 

tables and the dishes in the imperial dining-room were 
hurled in all directions. Eight soldiers and two servants 
of the imperial household were killed, while forty-five 
were more or less seriously wounded. 

This new attempt on his life, with the attending num- 
ber of victims, impressed the" Czar's mind so deeply that 
it brought on a new attack of melancholy which his 
physicians were powerless to subdue. Domestic troubles 
added to his mental depression, and caused apprehen- 
sions of a total collapse of his mental faculties. His 
general health had also greatly suffered from the long 
continued strain of his nervous system. In June, 1880, 
his wife died after a lingering illness. She was a princess 
of Hesse-Darmstadt, very handsome and highly accom- 
plished when he married her, in 1841. But the marriage 
was not a happy one. For quite a number of years the 
Czar carried on a liaison with the beautiful Princess Dol- 
gorouki, and shortly after the death of the Empress he 
contracted a morganatic marriage with her, in spite of the 
energetic protests of the Czarowitz and his other chil- 
dren. The Princess had great influence over Alexander's 
decisions as a ruler ; and when he seemed to have made 
up his mind to abdicate and retire to private life, she 
prevented the consummation of this design by her em- 
phatic protests. Alexander had formed the plan to trans- 
fer the crown to his son, but only on one condition : that 
the Princess, his wife, should always be treated by the 
imperial family with the same consideration as the de- 
ceased Empress, and that her children should also be 
treated as brothers and sisters by the Czar. But when he 
informed the Princess of this plan, she flew into a passion, 
rejected the proposition most angrily, saying that she 

375 



FAMOUS ASSASSINATIONS 

knew the feelings of the Czarowitz toward her too well 
to place any confidence in his promises, and demanded, 
as a proof of his affection for her, that Alexander should 
forever renounce his plan of abdication. Alexander 
therefore remained, much against his own inclination, on 
the throne until the day of his death, the thirteenth of 
March, 1881. 

On the forenoon of that day he returned from the resi- 
dence of the Princess to the Winter Palace, driving along 
the St. Michael's Canal. He was escorted by a small de- 
tachment of cavalry and an adjutant of the Director of 
Police. About midway between the residence of the 
Princess and the Winter Palace a man ran up to the im- 
perial carriage throwing a bomb charged with dynamite 
under the horses. It killed two men of the Czar's escort 
and wounded three others. In spite of the protests of the 
police officer and the driver, who insisted on taking the 
Czar as rapidly as possible to the Winter Palace, he 
alighted, unhurt as he was, to look after the victims of 
the attack. In doing so, he exclaimed : " Thank God, I 
was not hurt ! " But the man who had thrown the bomb 
and been seized by the escort, hearing the Czar's excla- 
mation, replied : " Perhaps it is not time yet to thank 
God ! " At the same time another person hurled a bomb 
at the feet of the Emperor. His legs were broken by the 
explosion, his abdomen was torn open so that the intes- 
tines protruded, and his face was badly disfigured. The 
Emperor fell to the ground, exclaiming : " Help me ! 
Quick to the Palace ! I am dying ! " The explosion was 
so violent that the windows of a church and of the impe- 
rial stables situated on the opposite side of the Canal were 
shattered. Many persons were killed or wounded. The 

376 



ALEXANDER THE SECOND 

imperial carriage was also considerably damaged. The 
Emperor was therefore lifted into a sleigh, which re- 
turned to the Winter Palace at a gallop. The blopd 
flowed in great quantity from his wounds, and as he was 
carried up the large stairway of the Palace he fainted. 
The surgeons found it impossible to stop the hemorrhage, 
and at thirty-five minutes past three o'clock in the after- 
noon he breathed his last without having recovered con- 
sciousness for a moment. 

The assassination caused the most intense excitement 
in the capital. A shout of triumph went up from the 
Executive Committee of the Nihilists, and a few days 
afterward the people of St. Petersburg could read the 
following manifesto, which, in spite of the care of the 
police, had been posted in several conspicuous places : 

" The Executive Committee consider it necessary once more to 
announce to all the world that it repeatedly warned the tyrant now 
assassinated, repeatedly advised him to put an end to his homicidal 
obstinacy, and to restore to Russia its natural rights. Every one 
knows that the tyrant paid no attention to these warnings and 
pursued his former policy. Reprisals continued. The Executive 
Committee never drop their weapons. They resolved to execute 
the despot at whatever cost. On the thirteenth of March this 
was done. 

" We address ourselves to the newly crowned Alexander the 
Third, reminding him that he must be just. Russia, exhausted by 
famine, worn out by the arbitrary proceedings of the administra- 
tion, continually losing its sons on the gallows, in the mines, in 
exile, or in wearisome inactivity caused by the present regime, — 
Russia cannot longer live thus. She demands liberty. She must 
live in conformity with her demands, her wishes, and her will. 
We remind Alexander the Third that every violator of the will of 
the people is the nation's enemy and tyrant. The death of 
Alexander the Second shows the vengeance which follows such 
acts." 

377 



FAMOUS ASSASSINATIONS 

These accusations were only partly true. Alexander, 
on ascending the throne, had honestly tried to introduce 
reforms, abolish abuses and pave the way for a progres- 
sive, liberal government. But his liberal policy did not 
satisfy the Nihilists. And when in self-protection he fell 
back on the former policy of repression, the Nihilists 
began a war of reprisals, and finally murdered the Czar. 



378 



CHAPTER XXIV 
WILLIAM McKINLEY 




WILLIAM McKINLEY 



CHAPTER XXIV 
ASSASSINATION OF WILLIAM McKINLEY 

PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES 
(September 6, 1901) 

THE North-American Republic had lived eighty- 
nine years before political assassination made its 
entrance into its domain. From 1776 to 1865, a period 
occasionally as turbulent, excited and torn by political 
discord and strife as any other period in history, political 
assassinations kept away from its shores, and appeared 
only at the close of the great Civil War between the North 
and the South, selecting for its victim the noblest, gen- 
tlest, most kind-hearted of Americans who had filled the 
Presidential chair. 

'/Sixteen years later, on July 2, 1881, the second 
political assassination took place in the United States, 
resulting in the death of President James A. Garfield, 
after months of intense suffering from a wound inflicted 
by a bullet fired by Charles J. Guiteau, a disappointed 
office-seeker. By removing the President this man hoped 
to restore harmony in the Republican party, which, in the 
state of New York at least, had been disturbed by the 
feud between James G. Blaine and Roscoe Conkling. 
Guiteau imagined that President Garfield had become an 
interested party in this feud by appointing Mr. Blaine 

381 



FAMOUS ASSASSINATIONS 

his Secretary of State. His was the act of a vindictive 
madman. 

Twenty years had elapsed since Guiteau's horrible 
crime, and again a President of the United States was 
prostrated by the bullet of an assassin, who, at the mo- 
ment of committing the crime, proclaimed himself an 
Anarchist. When William McKinley was reelected Pres- 
ident in November, 1900, a successful and perhaps glori- 
ous second term seemed to be in store for him. During 
his first term the policy of the Republican party had 
earned great triumphs, and the President, who was in 
full accord with his party on all economical questions, 
and was even its most prominent leader on the tariff 
question, had justly shared these triumphs. 

Quite unexpectedly the question of armed intervention 
in Cuba had been sprung in the middle of Mr. McKinley 's 
first term of office, and after having exhausted all diplo- 
matic means to prevent war and to induce Spain to grant 
satisfactory terms to the Cubans, the President was 
forced into a declaration of war by the enthusiasm of the 
Senators and Representatives assembled at Washington. 
But, as if everything undertaken by Mr. McKinley was 
to be blessed with phenomenal success, the war with Spain 
was not only instrumental in securing the thing for which 
it had been undertaken, — the liberty and independence of 
the island of Cuba, — but it had also an entirely unex- 
pected effect on the international standing of the United 
States. Up to the time of the Spanish-American War the 
United States had always been considered an exclusively 
American power, and while the European powers seemed 
to be willing to concede to it a leading position — a sort 
of hegemony — in all American affairs (including Cen- 

382 



WILLIAM McKINLEY 

tral and South America), which the United States had 
assumed by the promulgation of the Monroe Doctrine in 
1823, they had never invited the American government to 
their councils treating of European or other non-Ameri- 
can affairs. The Spanish-American War was a revelation 
to Europe. It opened its eyes to the fact that over night, 
while Europe had been sleeping and dreaming only of 
its own greatness, a young giant had grown up on the 
other side of the Atlantic who was just beginning to feel 
his own strength and who seemed to make very light of 
time-honored sovereignty rights and inherited titles of 
possession. As the Atlantic cable flashed over its wires 
the reports of American victories and achievements of 
astounding magnitude, — the destruction of two power- 
ful Spanish fleets, followed by the surrender of the large 
Spanish armies in the Philippine islands and Cuba, — 
Europe stood aghast at this superb display of power and 
naval superiority, and European statesmen reluctantly 
admitted that a new world-power of the first order had 
been born, and that it might be prudent to invite it to a 
seat among the great powers. History is often a great 
satirist ; it was so in this case. Spain had for a long time 
made application for admission to a seat among the great 
powers of the world and had pointed to her great colonies 
and to her splendid navy as her credentials entitling her 
to membership in the illustrious company. But England 
and Germany, fearing that Spain would strengthen 
France and Russia by her influence and navy, kept her 
out of it. And now comes a young American nation 
which nobody had thought of as a great military and 
naval power, makes very short work of Spain's navy, 
robs her of all her colonies, and coolly, without having 

383 



FAMOUS ASSASSINATIONS 

asked for it, takes the seat which Spain had vainly sighed 
for. 

In a monarchy a large part if not the whole of the glory 
of these achievements on land and sea would have been 
ascribed to the ruler under whose reign they occurred. 
It was so with Louis the Fourteenth and Queen Elizabeth, 
but William McKinley was entirely too modest to claim 
for himself honors which did not exclusively belong to 
him. Nevertheless a great deal was said about imperi- 
alism and militarism during the campaign, and these 
charges were even made a strong issue against Mr. Mc- 
Kinley 's reelection. However, the good judgment of the 
American people disregarded them and reelected Mr, 
McKinley by a considerably larger majority than he had 
received four years before. 

It might have been supposed that this flattering en- 
dorsement of Mr. McKinley's first administration would 
have allayed all opposition to him personally, because 
certainly his experience, his conceded integrity and abil- 
ity, his great influence in the councils of his party, and 
his immense popularity would have been of inestimable 
value in adjusting and solving the new problems of ad- 
ministration arising from the acquisition of our new in- 
sular possessions in the Pacific and the West Indies. 
While the two great political parties, and in fact all other 
parties, had bowed to this decision of the people at the 
ballot-box, there was, unfortunately, a class of men in the 
United States as well as in Europe who made war upon 
the present organization of society as unjust to the poor 
man, and upon all government, which they declared hos- 
tile and detrimental to the rights of individuals, and 
which they considered the source of all wrongs and mis- 

384 



WILLIAM McKINLEY 

eries. This doctrine was originated by a French philos- 
opher, Pierre Joseph Proudhon, in his famous pamphlet 
published in 1850 and entitled: "What is Property?" 
He denounces the unequal division and distribution of 
property among men and the unjust accumulation of 
capital in the hands of the few as the source of all social 
evils, and, concluding with the emphatic declaration that 
all property is theft, demands its readjustment and reap- 
portionment on a basis of strict justice as the sole hope 
for happiness. Proudhon's ideas and arguments found 
an echo throughout Europe. He had considered the ques- 
tion only in its economical bearings ; but some of his 
disciples extended the inquiry in all other directions, and 
showed the hurtful influence of accumulated power and 
property on all other social conditions, especially on pol- 
itics and the government of nations. They demanded the 
reinstatement of the individual in all his natural rights, 
and a destruction of all those powers and laws which 
stood in the way of the free and unobstructed exercise of 
those rights. This meant a declaration of war on all es- 
tablished authority and government. It meant anarchy 
in the literal sense of the word, and the men who had 
adopted this doctrine as their political platform called 
themselves Anarchists. 

On the twenty-ninth of September, 1872, a violent 
schism occurred at the congress of the International As- 
sociation of Laborers, held at the Hague, between the 
partisans of Carl Marx and those of Bakunin, and from 
this date we must count the origin of the anarchistic 
party. In the United States the first symptoms of an an- 
archistic movement appeared in 1878. At the Socialist 
congress held at Albany, N. Y., the majority of dele- 
25 385 



FAMOUS ASSASSINATIONS 

gates, who were advocates of peaceable methods of prop- 
agandism, were opposed by a minority of revolutionists 
preaching the most extreme measures. The leader of this 
minority was Justus Schwab, who was then publishing a 
socialistic newspaper, " The Voice of the People," at St. 
Louis. He was a friend and admirer of John Most, who 
had been imprisoned in England for his revolutionary and 
seditious articles, and who was, unquestionably, the intel- 
lectual leader of the radical minority at Albany. The final 
rupture between the two factions occurred a year later, at 
the congress at Alleghany, Pa., in 1879, when the radical 
revolutionists, who were in a majority, expelled the mod- 
erate faction from the convention. The radical wing has 
grown rapidly in numbers and power, and its influence 
has made itself felt repeatedly on lamentable occasions, 
the last of which was the assassination of William Mc- 
Kinley, President of the United States, during the Pan- 
American Exposition at Buffalo, on September 6, 1901. 
The great American cities, from the Atlantic coast to 
the Pacific, are hot-beds of extreme political radicalism; 
Italian Carbonarism and Russian Nihilism are repre- 
sented in those cities by some of their most daring rep- 
resentatives, whose official programme is destruction of 
authority by the assassination of its most exalted heads, 
and subversion of law. By placing William McKinley in 
line with the monarchs who were the special targets of 
their inflammatory harangues and writings, danger and 
death were attracted to his person with magnetic power ; 
and what in the intention of party opponents was but a for- 
cible means of attacking Mr. McKinley's and his party's 
colonial policy (to disappear again with his election) 
may have lingered in the heated imaginations of these 

386 



WILLIAM McKINLEY 

avowed regicides, and may have intensified their feehngs 
against him, as the most exalted representative of law 
and order (with alleged imperial designs) in this country. 
Several months before the assassination took place it was 
reported that detectives had ferreted out at Paterson, 
N. J., which is known as a gathering-place of Italian 
anarchists and assassins, a conspiracy which had for its 
object the assassination of all European monarchs and of 
President McKinley. This report, when published in 
the newspapers, was received with laughter and contempt 
by the reading public. The mere idea appeared too ab- 
surd to deserve even a moment's attention, and the result 
was that to the recent assassinations of the Empress of 
Austria and King Humbert of Italy was added the 
tragedy of Buffalo. 

Only a few months after Mr. McKinley was inaugu- 
rated for his second term of office, the Pan-American 
Exposition was held at Buffalo. Mr. McKinley had, 
from the very inception of the great undertaking which 
was to shed new lustre upon his administration, given 
to it great attention and cordial encouragement. For the 
first time, such an exposition was to exhibit all the 
products, natural and artificial, of the two Americas in 
one common presentation, challenging the admiration or 
the criticism of the world on the intellectual and indus- 
trial standing which this display manifested. The result 
was grand, and in many respects surpassed expectation. 
It emphasized the impression already created by the 
Chicago World's Fair of 1893, that America would within 
a short time become a dangerous rival for Europe in 
many departments of industry, not only at home, but even 
in foreign countries which up to that time had almost 

387 



FAMOUS ASSASSINATIONS 

held a monopoly for supplying certain articles of manu- 
facture. The departments in which articles of steel and 
iron manufacture, electrical machines, etc., were exhib- 
ited showed such superiority over what old Europe could 
show that even the most prejudiced visitors from abroad 
had to concede it. 

It had been expected that President McKinley, by his 
presence on several days in some official capacity, would 
heighten the interest and emphasize the importance of 
the Exposition. He had promised and planned to do so. 
In the summer of 1901 he made a trip to the Pacific coast, 
and was everywhere welcomed with boisterous enthu- 
siasm. Mrs. McKinley accompanied him, sharing his 
popularity and triumphs. Perhaps no President since 
George Washington had to a higher degree possessed the 
confidence and love of the whole people than Mr. Mc- 
Kinley did at the time of his second inauguration. Even 
his political opponents conceded his eminent worth, his 
integrity, his loyalty to duty, and his sincere desire to 
promote the general welfare of the country. The short 
addresses which he made during his trip to California 
found an enthusiastic echo in the hearts of his fellow- 
citizens, East and West ; the ovations he received and 
which he accepted with becoming modesty and tact, were 
heartily endorsed by the nation as symptomatic of the 
universal feeling of harmony and of good-will toward 
the administration. The ante-election charges of impe- 
rialism were laughed at, and both parties seemed to be 
willing to make the best of the results of the war. More- 
over the great urbanity of manners, and the personal 
amiability which distinguished Mr. McKinley were the 
strongest refutations of these ridiculous imperialistic 

388 



WILLIAM McKINLEY 

charges and of Mr. McKinley's ambition to be clothed 
with royal honors. He showed equal courtesy to rich 
and poor, and his grasp of the laborer's hand was just as 
cordial as of the rich merchant's. 

The Presidential party had reached San Francisco, and 
its reception there was fully as enthusiastic as it had been 
in the cities along the route to the Pacific. It had been 
the President's intention to stop at Buffalo on his return 
from his trip to California, to be the guest of the man- 
agers of the Exposition for a few days, and to perform 
those duties and ceremonies which were expected of him 
as head of the nation. Unfortunately this programme 
could not be carried out. Mrs. McKinley, always in very 
delicate health, fell seriously ill at San Francisco, and for 
several days her life was despaired of. She recovered ; 
but as soon as she was able to bear the discomforts of 
transportation, without inviting the danger of a relapse, 
the President's return to the East was decided on, and a-ll 
his previous appointments were cancelled. His intention 
to visit Buffalo, during the continuance of the Exposition, 
was, however, not abandoned, but simply postponed to a 
more opportune time, after Mrs. McKinley should have 
recovered her usual strength. 

Mr. McKinley came to Buffalo in the first week of Sep- 
tember. The Exposition had attracted many thousands 
of visitors who were anxious to greet the President. On 
the fifth — which had been made President's Day — he 
delivered an address to a very large audience, in which 
he spoke feelingly of the blessings bestowed by Provi- 
dence on this country, and in eloquent terms referred to 
the unexampled prosperity enjoyed by its citizens. That 
secret and unaccountable influence which frequently in- 

389 



FAMOUS ASSASSIXATIOXS 

spires men on the vori^e of the grave and endows them 
with ahnost prophetic foresight seemed to liave taken 
possession of Mr. McKinley on this occasion. The 
speech was. perhaps, the best he had ever made. It was 
the speech of a statesman and patriot, full of wisdom and 
love of country. He did not know, when he made it, that 
it would be his farewell address to the American people ; 
but if he had known it and written it for that purpose, he 
could not have made it loftier in spirit, more patriotic in 
sentiment, and more con\'incing in argiuuent. 

On the afternoon of the next day a g^nd reception 
had been arranged for the President at the Temple of 
Music. An immense multitude had assembled, eager to 
shake hands with Mr. McKinley and to have the honor 
of exchanging a few words with him. He was in the 
very best of spirits and perfomied the ceremony of hand- 
shaking with that amiable and cordial expression on his 
features which won him so many hearts. It had been 
arranged that only one person at a time should pass by 
him. and that after a rapid salutation his place should be 
taken by the next comer. Himdreds had already ex- 
changed greetings with the President, when a yoimg man 
with smooth face and dark hair stepped up to him. Mr. 
McKinley noticed that the right hand of the young man 
was bandaged, as though it had been wounded, and he 
therefore made a move to grasp his left hand ; but at that 
moment the yoimg man raised his right hand, and in 
quick succession fired two shots at the President, which 
both wounded him, — the one aimed at his chest, lightly, 
because the bullet deflected from the breastbone ; the 
other, which had penetrated the abdomen, very seriously. 
The assassin had carried a revolver in his right hand and 

390 



WILLIAM Mckinley 

had covered it with a handkerchief in order to avoid de- 
tection. Mr. McKinley did not realize immediately that 
he was wounded, although from the effects of the shot he 
staggered and fell into the arms of a detective who was 
standing near him. 

"Am I shot?" asked the President. The officer opened 
the President's vest, and seeing the blood, answered : 
" Yes, I am afraid you are, Mr. President." 

The assassin was immediately thrown to the ground. 
Twenty men were upon him, and it was with some diffi- 
culty that he was rescued from their grasp. y\t first he 
gave a fictitious name, and, when asked for his motive, 
replied : " I am an Anarchist, and have done my duty." 
His statements shortly after his arrest seemed to implicate 
a number of more or less prominent Anarchists in the 
crime and to make it appear as the result of a widespread 
conspiracy. In consequence a number of the recognized 
leaders of the party — especially Emma Goldmann, whom 
the assailant named as the person whose teachings had in- 
spired him with the idea of committing the crime — were 
arrested and held for a preliminary examination ; but 
nothing could be proven against them, and they were 
discharged. 

After a few days the assailant made a full confession. 
His name was Leon Czolgosz ; he was a Pole by birth, 
and his family lived at Detroit. He was a believer in 
Anarchism and had murdered the President because he 
considered him the chief representative of that authority 
which, in his opinion, was hurtful to the development of 
a society founded on the equal rights of all its members. 
He had had no accomplices ; he had not consulted with 
anybody concerning the plan, time, or execution of the 

391 



FAMOUS ASSASSINATIONS 

crime, but he had resolved upon and executed it on his 
own responsibiHty. While his confession fully exoner- 
ated both the Anarchist party at large and all its members 
individually, it nevertheless showed what terrible conse- 
quences may arise from the propagandism of a party 
which has declared war on the existing organization of 
society, when its doctrines inflame the mind of a fanatic 
or of an unthinking proselyte. Public opinion in the 
United States was stirred to its very depths, all parties 
vying with one another in showing not only their abhor- 
rence of the crime, but also their love and admiration for 
the illustrious victim. 

Unfortunately the hopes of the American people that 
Mr. McKinley would survive the foul and senseless at- 
tempt on his life were disappointed. For about a week 
his condition seemed to improve, and his strong vitality 
seemed to rise superior to the weakening effects of a 
dangerous surgical operation which failed to produce the 
second bullet, deeply seated as it was in the spine. At 
first he rallied from the severe shock, and his physicians 
were hopeful of saving his life, but in the afternoon of 
September 12, a sudden change for the worse occurred 
which, it was soon noticed, indicated the approach of dis- 
solution. He remained conscious till about seven o'clock 
in the evening of September 13, and faced death in the 
same spirit of calmness and submission to the will of God 
which had characterized his whole career. " Good-bye, 
all ; good-bye. It is God's way. His will be done ! " 
were his last conscious words to the members of his cab- 
inet and other friends who, overcome with emotion, were 
at his bedside. The end came shortly after two o'clock in 
the morning, on September 14, apparently without pain. 

392 



WILLIAM Mckinley 

President McKinley's death made a profound impres- 
sion on the American people. The rage of the people of 
Buffalo against the assassin was boundless, and but for 
the efficient measures for protecting him at the station- 
house in which he was imprisoned, he very likely would 
have fallen a victim to the fury of the thousands who sur- 
rounded it. The entire police force and several com- 
panies of soldiers were kept under arms to be ready for 
any emergency. 

The body of the dead President was first taken to 
Washington, and thence to its final resting-place at Can- 
ton, Ohio. The obsequies were of imposing grandeur 
and magnificence ; but even more impressive than these, 
and more honorable to his memory, was the sorrow of 
a whole nation in tears over his untimely and cruel death. 

President McKinley's death is typical of the modern 
attempts on the lives of sovereigns and prominent men. 
These attempts have lost much of the personal character 
which in former times made them so interesting. They 
are much more the results of a wholesale conspiracy 
against the organization of society than against great 
individuals. Unfortunately political assassinations have 
not become of rarer occurrence during the last fifty 
years, as might have been hoped from the progress of 
education and civilization. On the contrary, they have 
multiplied with the spread and development of Anar- 
chism. The Anarchist makes no distinction between the 
bad ruler and the good ruler. The fact that the ruler 
occupies an exalted station above his fellow-men makes 
him an object of hatred for the Anarchist, and justifies 
his removal from an elevation which is a danger to all. 
At the present time men very high in authority, whether 

393 



FAMOUS ASSASSINATIONS 

in a monarchy or in a republic, are always exposed to the 
daggers or pistols or — what is much worse — to the 
dynamite or other explosives of assassins. 

The field of operation of these murderers — who are 
generally the deluded agents of a central organization of 
Anarchists, and who have frequently no personal griev- 
ance against their victims — extends not only all over 
Europe, from Russia to Spain, but also to the western 
hemisphere. 

While these murders fall with the same crushing effect 
upon the nations immediately stricken in the persons of 
their rulers or intellectual leaders, the interest in the 
causes leading to them is essentially diminished since they 
are all inspired by the same general motive, — destruction 
of authority, — and since the hand armed with the fatal 
weapon strikes with blind fanaticism, sparing neither age 
nor sex nor merit ; in fact, quite often slaying those who 
deserv^e to live, and sparing those whose death might be 
a benefit to their country and the world. In this way 
we have seen the Czar Alexander the Second of Russia, 
the emancipator of the Russian serfs ; General Prim, 
who, if he had lived longer, might have secured a con- 
stitutional government for Spain and her political regen- 
eration ; the Empress Elizabeth of Austria, a faultless 
and much betrayed wife as well as a bereaved mother ; 
King Humbert, whose best endeavors were made in be- 
half of a reunited Italy; President Sadi Carnot, one of 
the purest and most patriotic statesmen the French Re- 
public has had ; and last, though not least, our genial and 
noble-hearted President, William McKinley, — all falling 
victims to the senseless vindictiveness of men who do not 
persecute wrong and oppression, but power and authority 

394 



WILLIAM McKIXLEY 

in whatever form they may present themselves. We have 
selected the assassination of President McKinley as rep- 
resentative of this class of political murders, because he 
was dearest to the American heart, and also because, in 
our opinion, he was the most illustrious of the many 
victims of anarchistic vengeance. 



395 



CHAPTER XXV 
ALEXANDER I AND DRAGA 




ALEXANDER 1. OF SERVIA 



CHAPTER XXV 

ASSASSINATION OF ALEXANDER I AND DRAGA, 
KING AND QUEEN OF SERVIA 

(June 11, 1903) 

THE Balkan countries — Servia, Bulgaria, Rou- 
mania, Bosnia, and Herzegovina — are generally 
considered the political centre from which will spread, 
sooner or later, the conflagration of a gigantic war, which 
will eventually place Russia in possession of Constanti- 
nople and European Turkey. Some of these Balkan 
countries are nominally independent, others are still 
under the suzerainty of the Sultan, who holds on to 
them with the energy of despair. He watches every 
change in the political situation with the carefulness of 
a physician who knows that his patient is doomed, but 
who hopes that he may for a while prolong his life. The 
half Oriental, half European character of the populations 
of these Balkan states, their unquenchable thirst for 
national independence, their defiance and hatred of their 
oppressors, their contempt for the impotent Turkish ad- 
ministration, and their hope of improving their condition 
by some political change, — are singularly favorable to 
insurrections and revolutions. Russia Is nursing this 
revolutionary spirit with great skill and prudence, trust- 

399 



FAMOUS ASSASSINATIONS 

ing to the proper moment for harvesting the fruit of the 
seed which she has been sowing for upwards of a cen- 
tury. Ever since the days of Catherine the Second 
Russia has stood, so to speak, like a sentinel on the look- 
out for the favorable moment to pounce down on Turkey, 
to plant the \\'hite Eagle on the peaks of jMacedonia and 
Roumelia, and to take possession of the Dardanelles as 
a Russian ship-canal between the Black Sea and the 
Mediterranean. Every commotion and revolution in 
any of the Balkan states helps her in her far-seeing am- 
bition, especially now since France will stand by her as 
an ally. It is in this sense and for this reason that the 
terrible tragedy which occurred at Belgrade, Servia, on the 
eleventh of June, 1903, may claim a place in this gallery 
of historical assassinations. From it sooner or later 
events of the first magnitude may develop, and while at 
present comparative quiet has been restored at the Ser- 
vian capital, the change of dynasty may lead to the most 
serious international complications. 

The reign of Alexander the First of Servia was ushered 
into existence by means of a coup d'etat at midnight on 
the sixth of March, 1889; it terminated after midnight 
on the eleventh day of June, 1903, by assassination. 

The manner in which King Milan forfeited his throne, 
and again the manner in which King Alexander lost both 
his throne and his life, as well as the many tragedies 
and comedies which occurred in the royal family of 
Servia between these two events, — all these details 
seem to be rather detached chapters of a highly sensa- 
tional novel than the sober and truthful records of recent 
history. 

At the age of twenty-one, on the seventeenth of October, 
400 



ALEXANDER I AND DRAGA 

1875, King Milan of Servia married Princess Natalia 
Keschko, the daughter of a colonel in the Russian army; 
Natalia's mother, however, was the daughter of a Rou- 
manian prince. Natalia was seventeen years old at the 
time, and of marvellous beauty. She was one of the most 
admirable beauties of the Russian capital, and King 
Milan, who fell desperately in love with her at first sight, 
found but little encouragement from her, in spite of his 
exalted rank, because the young lady herself was in love 
with a Russian officer and was loved in return. But 
Colonel Keschko, who was ambitious and prized very 
highly the honor of a family alliance with a reigning 
King, by his paternal veto put an end to his daughter's 
sentimental love-affair and compelled her to accept King 
Milan's hand. 

It is but just to say that Princess Natalia proved herself 
in every respect worthy of the honor conferred upon her. 
As Queen of Servia she was not only the most beautiful 
woman of the kingdom, but she was a model wife, and 
opened her heart and mind to all the patriotic aspirations 
of the Servian people. When shortly afterwards a war 
broke out between Servia and Turkey, she personally 
appealed to the Czar for assistance, went to the hos- 
pitals to nurse the wounded, cared for the widows and 
orphans, and became not only a popular favorite, but 
deservedly won the esteem of the Servian nation. 

It was a day of public rejoicing, when on August 
14, 1876, she bore the King a son, who was named 
Alexander after his godfather, Alexander the Second of 
Russia. Another son, born two years later, died a few 
days after his birth. Soon after the birth of his son 
Alexander, King Milan commenced neglecting his wife 
26 401 



FAMOUS ASSASSINATIONS 

and bestowed his favor on other women of the court. 
The Queen felt the King's neglect very keenly, and 
became often an indignant witness to his liaisons, which 
he did not think it worth while to conceal from her. 
The anger and contempt she felt for the indelicate volup- 
tuary gave her strength to overcome the love which had 
gradually grown up in her heart for the father of her 
son, and to this son she transferred all the tenderness 
her heart was capable of. The Servian people soon saw 
and learned what was going on at court, and while they 
condemned and despised the King, they praised and 
idolized the Queen. 

Under such lamentable conditions young Alexander 
grew up to adolescence. He was greatly attached to his 
mother, and applied to her as his adviser and friend in 
all questions, while he could hardly conceal his profound 
aversion for his father. The King noticed this growing 
hostility in his son and heir, and blamed the Queen for 
having incited it. He saw in it a deep-laid plot on her 
part to secure a controlling position which would enable 
her, at any given opportunity, to place her son on the 
throne and to assume the reins of government under his 
name. The breach thus created between the father and 
the mother, and every day widened by the excesses and 
orgies of the King, reached its climax when the question 
arose who should be appointed instructors to prepare 
the prince for his future duties as the head of the Servian 
nation. Milan wanted Austrian instructors for his son, 
because he had been leaning on Austrian influence ; the 
Queen, in sympathy with the national demands as well 
as prompted by her own impulses, insisted on Russian 
preceptors, to initiate him into the maze of European 

402 



ALEXANDER I AND DRAGA 

politics and to open his mind to the aspirations of Servian 
genius. It is said that one day when the discussion had 
grown very warm between husband and wife, and when 
he accused the Queen of purposely estranging his son's 
heart from him, she reproached him with the indignities 
he had heaped upon her, with his many acts of infidelity, 
and with his low and vulgar excesses, which, she said, 
imperilled the dynasty. The King was dumfounded by 
this torrent of invectives, which he could neither stop nor 
contradict, but which left in his heart a wound which his 
pride would not permit to heal up. It seems certain that 
from that day his resolution was taken to obtain a divorce 
from his wife for a double purpose : first, that he might 
not be hindered by her from following his low inclina- 
tions ; second, that he might withdraw his son from the 
Queen's influence and surround him with his own crea- 
tures. The question was, how could he obtain this divorce 
from a wife whose conduct was exemplary, and who was 
almost worshipped by the whole people for her private 
and public virtues? It was clear to him that to succeed 
in his design he had to ruin her character, and on this 
conviction he built a plot of diabolical malice. Under 
a plausible pretext he arranged a private meeting in the 
Queen's apartments between her and the Metropolitan 
of Servia. This bishop was known to have an almost 
worshipful admiration for the Queen; upon him, there- 
fore, it was supposed, the suspicion of illicit relations 
with her could be fastened easily. No sooner had the 
Metropolitan entered the Queen's apartments than the 
King, accompanied by some of his intimates, appeared 
on the scene and " surprised the guilty couple." The 
plot failed miserably; the King's hand appeared too 

403 



FAMOUS ASSASSIXATIOXS 

\-isibly in the arrangfement and execution to leave any 
doubt in the public mind as to the Oueens innocence. 
His e\ndent intention to brand an innocent and much 
wronged wife as an adulteress lowered Milan even more 
in the estimation of the people, and tliey commenced 
talking" openly of the necessity for his abdication. 

The Queen thereafter refused to live with the King, 
and this refusal gave him the desired pretext to obtain 
a divorce. They separated in i8S8. Alexander was then 
twelve years old. The Oueen went to Wiesbaden, and 
took her boy with her: but on the application of King 
Milan to the German authorities, the boy was taken away 
from her and sent to Belgrade. The King's scandalous 
conduct had now exhausted the patience of the Servian 
people. They insisted on his dethronement, either by 
voluntar}- abdication or by forced removal. A delega- 
tion of notables placed before him the alternative of 
either abdicating in favor of his son. or of sharing the 
fate of his uncle. Michael Obrenovitch. who just twenty 
years before was assassinated in a park near Belgrade. 
Milan did not hesitate long. He declared his willing- 
ness to abdicate, but he demanded two million dollars 
as the price of this abdication, and the Servian people, 
only too glad to get rid of him at any price, paid the sum 
demanded. 

On the sixth of March. iSSo. Alexander, who was then 
thirteen years old. ascended the throne of Ser\'ia. A 
regency of three prominent men — General Bolimarco- 
%'itch. M. Ristitch. and General Protitch — was appointed 
to conduct the public affairs of the kingdom. Every- 
thing promised a prosperous reign. There was absolute 
order and tranquillity in the countr}- ; the people seemed 

404 



ALEXANDER I AND DRAGA 

to be satisfied. The Queen returned to Servia, and the 
government designated one of the royal palaces of Bel- 
grade for her residence. She was then at the height of 
her popularity, and the young King shared in that popu- 
larity because it was generally supposed that he had 
great respect and love for his mother. 

These happy and peaceful conditions, however, soon 
underwent a change. Ex-King Milan, who could not 
forget the days of luxury he had enjoyed at Belgrade, 
was busy stirring up intrigues and conspiracies which 
might lead to his restoration ; and on the other hand, 
Queen Natalia, to counteract his manoeuvres, built up 
a party of her own, and took an active interest in poli- 
tics. This became embarrassing to the government, 
since it continued to inflame the minds of the people. 
Through these conflicting parties the country was actu- 
ally brought to the verge of civil war, which very likely 
would have broken out had not the government taken en- 
ergetic measures to put a stop to the strife. The regents 
first applied to Milan, and bought him off. They restored 
to him the property which had been confiscated when he 
went into exile, and paid him one million dollars besides. 
Milan on his part solemnly promised never to set foot 
on Servian soil again, and even renounced his right of 
citizenship. The contract between the ex-King and the 
council of regency was made on April 14, 1891. There- 
upon the regents addressed a request to the Queen, 
asking her, in the interest of peace and order, to leave 
the country. She refused to comply with the request, 
and a week afterwards an attempt was made to remove 
her by force. She was arrested in her palace, and rapidly 
driven in a coach to the quay, where a steamer was wait- 

405 



FAMOUS ASSASSINATIONS 

ing to convey her across the frontier. But a number of 
young students delivered her from the hands of the 
officers who had charge of her person, conducted her 
back in triumph to her palace, and constituted themselves 
her guard of honor. Quite a bloody conflict occurred 
between the students and the police, in the course of 
which a number of persons were killed, and many more 
wounded. However, a second attempt made by the 
police authorities a day or two later was more successful. 
She was conveyed by railroad to Hungary. The young 
King showed that he was a true Obrenovitch by the fact 
that he never interfered or even uttered a kind word in 
behalf of his mother. He showed the same ingratitude 
to the three regents in 1893 when he dismissed them 
unceremoniously like body-servants for whom he had 
no further use. The first coup d'etat which Alexander 
made occurred on April 14, 1893. It would seem that 
the radicals had in some way secured an influence over 
his mind, for it was to their advantage that the coup 
d'etat principally turned out. But Alexander showed 
considerable self-assurance on that occasion. 

On the evening of the day mentioned Alexander had 
invited the three regents and the members of the cabinet 
to take supper with him. Altogether eight persons sat 
down at the supper-table. The very best of humor 
prevailed among the guests. After the third course had 
been served the King rose from his seat, and addressed 
his guests as follows : 

" Gentlemen, for the last four years you have exer- 
cised royal authority in my name, and I sincerely thank 
you for what you have done. I feel now, however, that 
I am able to exercise that power myself, and will do so 

406 



ALEXANDER I AND DRAGA 

from this moment. I therefore request you to hand me 
your resignations forthwith." 

Mr. Ristitch was the first to recover his presence of 
mind. He told the King that it would be impossible to 
comply with his request, because by doing so they would 
violate the constitution. The King thereupon left the 
table without saying another word ; but soon afterwards 
an officer appeared renewing the King's demand for the 
resignation of the members of the Council of Regency 
and of the Cabinet. 

During that very night the young King, who was then 
only seventeen years old, went to the different barracks 
and armories where the troops were under arms, pro- 
claimed his accession to the throne, received the enthu- 
siastic homage of the regiments, and returned to the 
palace. The coup d'etat was a complete success. Alex- 
ander the First was King, not only in name, but also in 
fact. He dismissed the old cabinet, and appointed a new 
one, composed exclusively of moderate radicals. 

A few years afterwards Alexander visited the different 
courts of Europe, in the hope, it was commonly reported 
at the time, of finding a young princess willing to accept 
his hand ; but in this hope he was either disappointed, or 
the report of his intentions was unfounded. At all events 
he returned to Belgrade without a bride. It was soon 
after this that the eyes of the young King were for the 
first time directed toward the woman whose striking 
beauty and sensual charms inflamed him with a passion 
to which he blindly yielded. He elevated her to the 
throne, and for this act he paid the penalty with his life. 
For it is absolutely certain that the King's marriage with 
Draga Maschin, and his blind subordination to her dom- 

407 



FAMOUS ASSASSINATIONS 

ineerinj^ spirit in private and public affairs, had much 
more to do with his tragic downfall than all his political 
mistakes. 

Draga Lunyewitza, better known as Draga Maschin, 
was the widow of a Servian nobleman who had occupied 
a prominent position at the court of King Milan. Even 
more prominent than her husband had been Madame 
Draga, not only on account of her beauty, which was of 
a pronounced sensual type, but also on account of her 
brilliant conversational powers. Her most conspicuous 
feature was her wonderful eyes, large, lustrous, and 
beaming with an intensity of feeling and intelligence so 
penetrating that it was said that no man whose conquest 
she had resolved upon would be able to resist them if 
properly brought under their influence. That Madame 
Draga Maschin's eyes had often proved victorious was 
well known from the long list of her favored lovers, — 
a list which included statesmen, high military officers, 
bankers, and noblemen, and lastly, King Milan himself. 
In the eyes of the people of Belgrade Madame Draga 
Maschin was not only a coquette, but a courtesan. By 
means of her brilliant mental powers, her wit, her inter- 
esting conversation, her suavity of manners, and her 
diplomatic skill, she still maintained her position in 
society, although shunned by the most exclusive circles. 

It was principally on account of those brilliant qualities 
of mind, and on account of Madame Draga's intimate 
acquaintance with a number of the leading politicians 
at Belgrade that the ex-Queen made her one of her at- 
tendants in her exile. 

It was in this capacity that King Alexander met 
Madame Draga Maschin at Biarritz in the Pyrenees, 

408 




QUEEN DRAGA 



ALEXANDER I AND DRAGA 

where his mother spent the summer of 1900. The ex- 
perienced coquette tried the power of her eyes on the 
young man, who had inherited the sensual temperament 
of his father. Alexander was by no means a novice in 
love-afifairs, but he had never come in contact with so 
consummate a mistress of the arts of seduction as Draga 
Maschin. When he left Biarritz he was passionately in 
love with her, and those who had observed her game 
predicted that something serious would come of it. His 
mother was either too deeply engaged in politics to pay 
much attention to the flirtation, or she secretly favored 
it in the hope of securing a new and reliable ally. 

Some time afterwards Draga Maschin returned to 
Belgrade, and the game of love-making was immediately 
renewed. Their intimacy became a matter of public 
notoriety. It also reached the ears of ex-King Milan, 
who was overjoyed at hearing it ; he hoped that his 
former " good friend " Draga would use her influence 
for his benefit. But Draga Maschin worked neither for 
the Queen, nor for the King; she worked for herself 
only, and very successfully too. 

Almost maddened by passion the King one day called 
a cabinet meeting and informed his ministers that he had 
made up his mind to make Draga Maschin his wife, and 
that a proclamation to that effect would appear in the 
ofiicial newspaper of the kingdom. The members of the 
cabinet were struck with amazement, and implored him 
to desist from his project, which they said would be fatal 
to the Obrenovitch dynasty. They employed every argu- 
ment they could think of to change the King's resolution ; 
but in vain. With his usual stubbornness, he declared : 
" I am the King, and can wed whomsoever I please." 

409 



FAMOUS ASSASSINATIONS 

As a last protest they all tendered their resignations. 
The King coolly accepted them, and the royal proclama- 
tion was published. 

When on a July morning of 1900 the people of Bel- 
grade were surprised by the announcement that the 
widow Draga Maschin was to be Queen of Servia, and 
when she was held up to their wives and daughters as 
a model of all womanly virtues, their disappointment and 
their protests against this " insane " act of the King 
were so general and so loud that serious apprehensions 
of an insurrection were entertained. These fears were 
not realized ; but the people of Belgrade remained in 
a state of sullen discontent. They knew that a speedy 
and terrible punishment would overtake the guilty youth. 
It was reported that on reading his son's proclamation, 
ex-King Milan, who was then a patient at Carlsbad in 
Bohemia, left his sick-room and rushed to the depot to 
take the train for Belgrade. He declared that this out- 
rage should never be committed, and that if the King 
should persist in accomplishing it, he would kill him with 
his own hands. But Milan's wrath had been telegraphed 
to Belgrade, and he was not permitted to enter Servian 
territory. 

No less great was the shame of Queen Natalia. She 
implored her son to desist from his pernicious intention, 
laying stress on the disparity of the ages, — he being 
twenty-four and Draga thirty-six, and on the scandalous 
reputation of the woman whose beauty had for the m.o- 
ment infatuated him. 

But neither the father's threats nor the mother's tears 
made the least impression on Alexander, who once more 
realized the often-quoted Latin saying: 

410 



ALEXANDER I AND DRAGA 

" Quos Deus vult perdere, prius dementat." 

The Skuptshina (the Servian Parliament) was amazed 
at the proclamation, and its president as well as the Met- 
ropolitan of Servia implored the King on their knees to 
revoke it. He had only deaf ears for them. 

On the fifth of August, 1900, the wedding was sol- 
emnized, and Draga Maschin took her place on the throne 
of Servia. 

If the King had hoped that the irritation of the public 
would die out after the wedding, he must have been a 
badly disappointed man ; for the scandals about Draga 
continued. Not only was her past life with its many 
stains and blemishes laid bare unsparingly, but her life 
as queen consort was also unmercifully exposed. Every 
word and every act of her married life were carefully 
weighed in the scales of public opinion, and hardly ever 
was a word of praise accorded to her, while vituperation, 
insinuations, and direct accusations abounded. The Bel- 
grade correspondents of foreign newspapers knew that 
anything they might have to report of King Alexander, 
Queen Draga, or any member of her family would be 
read with interest. If they could not pick up anything 
of interest they invented some unfavorable story. Un- 
questionably many of the stories circulated about Draga, 
and also of Alexander are utterly untrue. It should also 
be remembered that the elevation of Draga to a station 
which none of her rivals could hope to attain made her 
an object of envy, and that they resented this elevation 
by telling about her all the bad things they knew. But 
after making all these allowances, we still find enough 
to justify us in saying that the two were an exceedingly 

411 



FAMOUS ASSASSINATIONS 

ill-matched couple, — he a voluptuous, ungrateful, good- 
for-nothing simpleton, and she a designing, ambitious, 
unscrupulous woman of powerful mind. 

The scandal which has been most widely circulated 
referred to the fictitious pregnancy of the Queen. Un- 
questionably the young King was anxious to have a son. 
Alexander was the last Obrenovitch, and it was natural 
for him to desire to have a son so that his dynasty might 
continue to rule over Servia. It was equally natural 
for Draga to desire to become the mother of an heir, be- 
cause as such she would have had an additional claim on 
the affection of her husband, — a claim which might 
have outlasted her physical beauty. This desire was cer- 
tainly not unreasonable in a wife twelve years older than 
her husband. This pregnancy was officially announced 
by the court physician, but it was afterwards stated that 
the announcement had been premature. These are the 
facts in the case ; and on these slim facts a superstructure 
of rumors and fables has been erected. Very likely the 
great anxiety of the couple to have an heir was the real 
cause of the announcement. The rumors so widely cir- 
culated in the kingdom did certainly not contribute to 
improve the reputation of the Queen, or to give the peo- 
ple the impression of a happy domestic life. 

The generally recognized mental superiority of Queen 
Draga over her husband had still another unfavorable 
consequence, — one of a political character. While Alex- 
ander was unmarried, his political mistakes, his auto- 
cratic interference with the work of the Skuptschina, 
his violation of the constitution, were charged to himself ; 
but after his marriage all the political sins of the govern- 
ment were ascribed to Draga's instigation. 

412 



ALEXANDER I AND DRAGA 

The political conditions of the Balkan countries are of 
the most unsettled kind. They resemble very much the 
political conditions in the South American and Central 
American states, and while nominally they are regulated 
by constitutions and by a parliamentary system of gov- 
ernment, they are really controlled by the principle that 
" might constitutes right." It has been so in Servia from 
the day of the establishment of its national independence : 
continuous party strife, revolutions, assassinations — fre- 
quently winked at, if not directly instigated and supported, 
by foreign powers. In 1903 the Radicals had been several 
years in full control of the government. They had filled 
all lucrative offices with their party friends, many of whom 
belonged to the rural population, and had so apportioned 
the public taxes as to place the principal burden upon 
the city populations, where the Liberals had their voting 
strength. The misgovernment under the Radicals was 
so great that it became a national scandal. The public 
debt had been nearly doubled, the annual deficit was 
enormous, the most flagrant corruption and extravagance 
existed in all branches of the public service ; but the 
Servian Congress refused to correct these abuses, and 
it remained for the King to interfere personally. He 
did so by a new coup d'etat in March, 1903 ; the old 
Constitution was abrogated, a new Constitution was 
promulgated, and new general elections were ordered. 

One of the most alarming features of the political 
situation in Servia was the dissatisfaction of the army, 
and especially of its officers. This dissatisfaction was 
not, as has been asserted frequently, caused by patriotic 
considerations or by disapproval of the King's personal 
conduct, but simply by the unpardonable neglect of the 

413 



FAMOUS ASSASSINATIONS 

army on the part of the government. While in the royal 
palace at Belgrade an uninterrupted series of festivities, 
all arranged in the most sumptuous and expensive style, 
kept the gay capital on the tiptoe of excitement, the 
army was reduced nearly to a state of starvation, because 
neither officers nor men had been paid for months, " for 
want of funds in the public treasury." Instead of being 
a firm support of the government, the army therefore 
turned against it. It easily lent itself to propositions for 
a change, especially if that change would come in with 
the payment of their arrears of wages. 

There was another cause of dissatisfaction, which 
evoked a direct and strong protest against the Queen and 
her influence. Disappointed in her hope of giving the 
King a son and heir, Draga devised another plan to per- 
petuate her own power, — namely, to select an heir to the 
throne. Her choice fell upon her own brother, Nicodemus 
Lunyevitch, a young lieutenant in the Servian army, and 
she succeeded in winning the consent of the King. It is 
even stated that Alexander intended to adopt this brother- 
in-law, who was twenty-four years old, and formally 
proclaim him his heir. No sooner had the plan been 
mentioned than a very loud, and almost general, opposi- 
tion to it manifested itself. The cabinet ministers heard 
of it, and waited on the King in a body to enter their 
protest. When their arrival at the palace was announced 
to him, the King knew what they wanted, and kept them 
waiting for a long time. He finally received them in the 
large assembly hall. He was dressed in full uniform ; 
the Queen was by his side and leaning upon his arm. 
He turned to the prime minister and requested him to 
state the object of the visit, whereupon the prime minister 

414 



ALEXANDER I AND DRAGA 

asked the Queen in a very courteous manner to withdraw 
for a short time from the conference. She haughtily 
refused, and the King coolly informed the ministers that 
he had no secrets either private or public which he wished 
to conceal from his wife. 

The ministers then presented their complaints. They 
stated that public opinion was excited to such a degree 
that there was imminent danger of a revolution if the 
King should persist in carrying out this new plan. 
" Moreover," added the prime minister, " the Skupt- 
schina should be consulted in a matter of such great 
importance — a matter in which the state and the people 
are principally interested. In default of direct heirs, 
the representatives have the right to say who shall suc- 
ceed to the throne." 

The King interrupted him angrily, and said brusquely : 
" I am the King, and can do as I please." 

" But the will of the people should also be consulted ! " 
repeated the prime minister. 

" The King's will is supreme ! " interposed Draga, and 
suddenly taking the King's arm, she dragged him from 
the room, leaving the ministers confused and almost 
stupefied. 

It may be said that this was the beginning of the end. 
Both Alexander and Draga were blinded to such a degree 
by passion and by the idea of their own infallibility that 
they could not see what everybody else did see — that 
the measure of their follies was full to overflowing, and 
that the day of reckoning was approaching very fast. 
Anonymous letters came to the King and to the Queen 
informing them of plots and conspiracies against their 
lives ; they disregarded and laughed at them. They 

41.5 



FAMOUS ASSASSINATIONS 

openly showed their contempt for the will of the people 
and of the Cabinet by installing Lieutenant Nicodemus 
Lunyevitch as the heir apparent, in a brilliant suite of 
rooms of the royal palace, and abandoned themselves to 
an incessant whirl of pleasures and extravagant follies. 
Concerning this matter, a guest, the correspondent of a 
paper in Paris, wrote : " The King and the Queen do 
not seem to realize that they are dancing on a volcano ! " 

In the newspapers of the different capitals of Europe 
dark and ominous predictions were published about a 
conspiracy which was being formed at Belgrade, and of 
which persons of the highest station would be the victims. 

Then came the elections of the first of June, and they 
resulted in such an overwhelming victory for the govern- 
ment that the predictions of conspiracy and death were 
momentarily silenced and a feeling of greater security 
was established in the royal palace. It was, however, 
only the calm before the storm. 

Evidently the conspiracy which foreign papers had so 
often hinted at not only existed, but was well organized. 
The officers of the Sixth Regiment stationed at Belgrade 
were the leaders of it. Another leader was Colonel 
Maschin, the cousin (not, as is often stated, the brother- 
in-law) of the Queen, who for some personal reason had 
become her bitter enemy, and who was the very soul of 
the conspiracy. 

It is of course impossible, so soon (two months) after 
the terrible tragedy, when absolutely reliable data are 
still lacking, to give with historic accuracy the details of 
the plot which culminated in the assassination of the 
King, the Queen, two of her brothers, and some of their 
most prominent adherents ; but from the best and most 

416 



ALEXANDER I AND DRAGA 

authentic information obtainable at present it appears 
that the events of the night of June lo-ii were as 
follows : 

Ninety army officers, representing nearly every garri- 
son and military organization in Servia, had planned to 
overthrow the government. On Wednesday, June lo, 
Colonel Mitshitch, lieutenant-colonel of the Sixth Regi- 
ment, invited his fellow officers belonging to the con- 
spiracy to a conference at the Helimagdan Garden at 
II p. M, At that conference, which was largely attended, 
the immediate execution of the plot was agreed upon. 

At 1 : 40 after midnight these officers proceeded in 
eight groups to the Konac, the royal residence, which had 
been closed for the night. But the conspirators had 
accessories on the inside. They were Colonel Maschin, 
mentioned above, commanding the King's body-guard, 
and Colonel Maumovitch, personal aid of the King. 
The conspirators were in possession of the keys of the 
garden gate of the Konac which had been handed to 
them by Captain Panapotovitch, the King's adjutant. 
The first bloody encounter occurred when the conspira- 
tors reached the guardhouse near the gate. On their 
approach some soldiers rushed out. " Throw down your 
arms ! " commanded one of the officers. The soldiers 
fired, but were shot by the conspirators, who entered the 
gate and passed through the garden, without encounter- 
ing any obstacle until they reached the courtyard of the 
old Konac, where Colonel Maumovitch was waiting for 
them. He opened the iron door that gave access to 
the front room of the first floor. The officers ascended 
and, by the noise of their steps, attracted the attention of 
the royal couple and some of the officers of the palace. 

27 417 



FAMOUS ASSASSINATIONS 

Lieutenant Lavar Petrovitch, who had been alarmed by 
the unusual noise, ran to meet them, holding his revolver 
in one hand, and his drawn sword in the other. 

" What do you want ? " he asked. 

" Show us where to find the King and the Queen ! " 
was the reply. 

" Back, back ! " shouted the Lieutenant ; but he fell 
instantly, killed by three or four bullets. 

The conspirators advanced, but suddenly the electric 
lights went out, and all were enveloped in profound 
darkness. Utterly confounded and slowly feeling their 
way up the stairs, the revolutionists reached the ante- 
chamber of the King's apartment. It was dark, but one 
of the officers discovered a wax candle in a chandelier. 
He lighted it, and they could see their way. This trifling 
little circumstance, entirely accidental, decided the suc- 
cess of the plot. Without light it would have been im- 
possible for them to find the victims, who might have 
made their escape through the long corridors and nu- 
merous apartments of the palace, with which they were 
familiar while the conspirators were not, and could not 
have followed them. 

Some of the officers now carried lights, while the 
others followed them with revolvers in their hands. In 
breathless haste they hurried through the rooms in search 
of the royal couple. They opened the closets and raised 
the curtains, but no trace either of the King or of the 
Queen. At last Queen Draga's servant was found. He 
dangerously wounded Captain Dimitrevitch, who discov- 
ered him, but his life was spared for a little, because he 
was needed. It was in fact this servant who indicated to 
the officers the place where the King and the Queen had 



ALEXANDER I AND DRAGA 

gone to hide themselves. Thereupon he was shot. At this 
moment Colonel Maschin joined the conspirators and 
took them to the King's bedroom, where the King's ad- 
jutant tried to prevent their search, but was shot by the 
Colonel's companions. 

After a long search a small door was discovered lead- 
ing to an alcove. The door was locked and had to be 
burst open with an axe. In this alcove the royal couple 
had taken refuge. Both were in their night robes. The 
King was standing in the centre, holding the Queen in 
his arms, as if to protect her. Colonel Maumovitch com- 
menced reading to the King a document which demanded 
that he should abdicate the throne because he had dis- 
honored Servia by wedding " a public prostitute." The 
King answered by shooting Maumovitch through the 
heart. Another officer renewed the demand for the 
King's abdication ; but the younger officers had become 
impatient and now fired their revolvers at the royal 
couple until both expired. The body of the King showed 
thirty wounds, while the body of the Queen was so terri- 
bly lacerated by pistol-shot and sword wounds that her 
features could not be recognized, and the wounds could 
not be counted. Both died heroically, trying to protect 
each other with their own bodies. 

Together with the King and the Queen, two brothers 
of the latter, and a number of their most prominent 
adherents were murdered in cold blood. This terrible 
butchery reveals the semi-savage ferocity of the Balkan 
population. 

When the people of Belgrade awoke from their sleep 
early in the morning of June ii, there was not, as might 
have been expected, a manifestation of horror, pity, and 

419 



FAMOUS ASSASSINATIONS 

sorrow, among theni, but, on the contrary, rejoicing and 
exultation on all sides. Flags were raised, houses were 
decorated, salutes were fired ; a stranger entering the 
city might have supposed that a great national festival 
was being commemorated by the enthusiastic crowds of 
men, women, and children. 

It may be taken as a convincing proof of the sincerity 
of the wrath and the depth of the contempt which the 
people of Servia felt for Alexander I and Draga, that 
of the immense multitude which came to inspect the 
lacerated bodies of those who but the day before had 
been their King and their Queen, not one expressed a 
word of regret, or shed a tear of sorrow. Many, on 
the contrary, spat on the mangled remains, or mumbled 
words of execration as they passed by the plain coffins. 
Death itself had not been able to wipe out the misdeeds 
of these two persons. 

History, the terrible but just avenger, will preserve 
for many ages the memory of Alexander the First of 
Servia. not so much for any single crime, as for having 
persistently insulted the national pride and the moral 
sentiment of the people over whom Providence had 
placed him as ruler and protector. 



420 



INDEX 



INDEX 



Abo, Treaty of, 253 
Adolphus Frederick, 252-254 
y^milianus, Scipio, 13 
Africa, 27, 41 
Agrarian law, u, 17 
Agrippina, 36, 37 
Alba, kings of, 29 
Albany, N. Y., 385, 386 
Albrecht, of Germany, 68, 70 
Albret, Jeanne d', 150 
Alcobaza, 86 
Alexander, of Epirus, 5 
Alexander I., of Russia, 307, 311, 

317. 322 
Alexander II., of Russia, 357-378, 

394> 401 
Alexander III., of Russia, 377 
Alexander I., of Servia, 397-420 
Alexander III., the Great, 3, 4, 5, 41 
Alexander Nevski Monastery, 304 
Alexandria, 41-45 
Alexandria, Library of, 41, 43 
Alexandrian age, 42 
Alexandrian war, 42 
Alexandrowna Convent, 136 
Alexis, son of Peter the Great, 

209-217 
Alfonso IV., of Portugal, 77-85 
Alleghany, Pa., 386 
Altorf, 70 

Alva, Duke of, 117-121, 123 
America, 387 
America, Central, see Central 

America 



America, South, see South America 
American Union, 354 
Amphictyon League, 3 
Amsterdam, 202, 215 
Anarchism, 391, 393 
Anarchists, 382, 385, 391-394 
Angouleme, Due d', 333, 334, 335 
Anjou, Duke of, 152 
Ankarstrom, 249, 274-278 
Anna, daughter of Peter the 

Great, 222 
Anne, Princess of Saxony, n6 
Antony, Mark, 42 
Antwerp, 124 

Appomattox Court House, 343 
Aragon, 85 
Arc, Jeanne d', 298 
Argentan, 291 
Argyle, Countess of, 97 
Aristotle, 42, 45 
Armfeld, Count, 276 
Arndt, E. M., 318, 319 
Artois, Comte d', 329, 330, 333, 

335 
Asia, 4, 6, 41, 229, 363 
Athens, 45 

Atlantic Ocean, 316, 383, 386 
Attalus, Genera], 4, 5 
Augustus, Octavianus, 36, 37 
Austria, 68, 154, 175, 177, 273, 316, 

318, 360, 394 
Austria, Ducal hat of, 70 
Austria, Duke of, 70 
Austrian Governors, 68, 70 



423 



INDEX 



Austrian succession, War of, 252 
Avignon, 330 

Bakunin, Michael, 370, 385 

Baltic Sea, 170, 271, 318 

Barbaroux, 285, 290 

Barnevelt, Olden, iii 

Bastile, 292 

Bavaria, 178, 318 

Bayard, Chevalier, 92 

Beccaria, 265 

Becket, Thomas a, 51-63 

Belgrade, Servia, 400, 404, 405, 

407, 408, 410, 414, 416, 419 
Bell, The, 367, 368 
Benningsen, General, 310 
Bernard, Duke of Saxe- Weimar, 

i8[ 
Berry, Due de, 155, 325-340 
Berry, Duchesse de, 334, 336, 338 
Betysi, Comtesse de, 337 
Biarritz, 408, 409 
Biron, Marshal, 228 
Black Sea, 400 
Blaine, James G., 381 
Bloedraad, see Blood, Council of 
Blood, Council of, 119 
BlUcher, Marshal, 318 
Blucher monument, 123 
Boer Republics, 68 
Bohemia, 165, 167, 171, 173, 174, 

177, 181, 182 
Bohemian wars, 169 
Bolimarcovitch, General, 404 
Bologna, 54 

Bonapartist generals, 329 
Bonapartists, 330 

Booth, John Wilkes, 125, 348-350 
Borgia, Caesar, 143 
Bosnia, 399 

Bothwell, Earl of, 101-108 
Bourbon, Antony of, 150 
Bourbon, Cardinal de, 153 
Bourbon dynasty, 330, 332, 333, 

340 



Bourbons, 327, 331, 335 

Brabant, 120 

Braga, Archbishop of, 84 

Brahe, Count, 278 

Bretteville, Madame de, 285-287 

Brown, John, 349 

Brune, Marshal, 330 

Brunswick, Duke of, 166, 167 

Brunswick- Wolfenbiittel, Princess 

of, 213 
Brussels, 113-115, 117-119 
Brutus, 29, 297 
Brutus, Decimus, 30 
Buffalo, N. Y., 386, 387, 389, 393 
Buitenhof, 207 
Bulgaria, 399 
Billow, General, 318 
Burgundy, 125 

Burschenschaft, 319-321, 324 
Butler, Walter, 186 
Buturlin, Count, 233 

Buzot, , 285 

Byzantinism, 362 

Caen, 285, 286, 288, 289, 291, 292, 

295 
Caesar, 23-31, 35, 36, 42, 67, 187 
Caesarium, 48 
Caesars, City of, 41 
Caesars, Palace of the, 156 
Calais, 335 
California, 388, 389 
Caligula, 33-38, 156 
Calvarez, Alvaro, 78 
Calvin, John, 147, 148 
Calvinistic church, 120, 151 
Cantaneda, 85 
Canterbury, 61 
Canton, Ohio, 393 
Caps, Party of the, 251-253, 256, 

257, 263 
Caracalla, 156 
Carbonarism, 386 
Carlos, Don, 124 
Carlsbad, Bohemia, 410 



424 



INDEX 



Carnot, Sadi, President of France, 

329. 394 
Casan church, 234, 237 
Cassius, 29, 30 
Castile, 84, 85 
Castro, Inez de, 75-86 
Catherine I., Empress of Russia, 

214, 215 
Catherine II., Empress of Russia, 

89, 222, 224-227, 229-237, 239- 

246, 301, 304-306, 400 
Catherine de Medicis, 149, 151, 

Catholic church, 114, 116, 117, 

153. 165, 172, 175 
Catholic League, 166, 168, 170 
Caucasus, 363 

Central America, 316, 382, 413 
Cevennes, 330 
Chaeronea, Battle of, 3 
Champ-de-Mars, 292 
Charkow, Governor of, 372 
Charleroi, 194 
Charles V., Emperor, 112, 113, 116, 

122, 148 
Charles II., of England, 196 
Charles IX., of France, 90, 149, 

152 
Charles X., of France, 155, 340 
Charles XL, of Sweden, 250 
Charles XIL, of Sweden, 249, 250, 

251, 262, 268 
Charles, Prince, of Sweden, 257 
Chateaubriand, 339 
Chatelard, Pierre de, 91-93 
Cherbourg, 285 
Chicago, 387 

Choiseul, Due de, 254, 255 
Christian IV., of Denmark, 168, 

171 
Christianstadt, 257, 25S, 259 
Cicero, 20 
Cid, Le, 286 
Cinna, 286 
Civil War, 345, 354, 381 



Clarendon, Constitution of, 58, 59 
Claudius, 33-38, 156 
Clement, Jacques, 149 
Cleopatra, Queen of Egypt, 42 
Cleopatra, Queen of Macedon, 4, 5 
Clio, 354 

Coello, Pedro, 78, 84, 85 
Coimbra, 80, 81, 82, 86 
Coligny, Admiral, 151, 155 
Conde, Prince of, 200, 201, 286 
Confederacy, 343 
Confederate States of America, 

343 
Conkling, Roscoe, 381 
Constancia, wife of Pedro I., 77, 

Constant, Benjamin, 332 

Constantinople, 399 

Corday, Adrian, 285 

Corday, Charlotte, 283, 285-298 

Corday d'Armans, Monsieur de, 

285 
Corneille, Marie, 285 
Corneille, Pierre, 283, 285, 286, 

288 
Cornelia, mother of the Gracchi, 

12 
Crimean War, 364 
Croatian horsemen, 167 
Cromwell, Oliver, 193 
Crusoe, Robinson, 352, 353 
Cuba, 350, 382, 383 
Cuma, 18 

Cyril, Saint, 44, 46, 50 
"Czar of all the Russias," 134 
Czolgosz, Leon, 157, 390, 391 

Dalecarlia, 269 

Damiens, R. F., 156, 157, 158, 159, 

160, 161 
Damocles, Sword of, 362 
Danton, G. J., 284, 290, 291 
Dardanelles, 400 
Darius, 6 
Darnley, Lord, 87-108 



425 



INDEX 



Dashkow, Princess, 230, 234 

Decazes, M., 332, 339 

Defoe, Daniel, 353 

Delft, 125 

Deniaratus, the Corinthian, 5 

Denmark, 102, 215, 222 

De Ruyter, Admiral, 202, 203 

Detroit, 391 

Deveroux, , 186, 187 

De Witt, Cornelius, in, 189-208 
De Witt, John, ill, 189-208 
Diana of Poitiers, 91 
Dimitrevitch, Captain, 418 
Dolgorouki, Princess, 375, 376 
Dominican monk, 124 
Domitia, 36 

Dordrecht, City of, 191, 192, 206 
Douai, 194 

Douglas, vStephen A., 351 
Draga, Queen of Servia, 397-420 
Drentelen, General, 372 
Dunbar, 102 
Dunbar castle, 100 
Dutch Republic, in, 126, 128, 
19I1 '93i I95> 197-202, 208 

Edinburgh, 91, 100, 102, 105 

Eger, Bohemia, 165, 184, 185, 186 

Egmont, Count, 115, 116, 118, 119 

Egypt, 27, 41, 42 

Eisenach, 320 

Elba, 329 

Elizabeth, Empress of Austria, 

387, 394 
Elizabeth, Empress of Russia, 

222-228, 244 
Elizabeth, Queen of England, 89, 

94, 229, 384 
England, 59, 60, 62, 68, 167, 193- 

195, 197, 202, 215, 291, 333, 366, 

383. 386 
Epirus, 4, 5 

Essen, Count, 275, 276, 277 
Esths, 268 
Eumenes, King of Pergamus, 42 



Europe, loi, 120, 127, 155, 176, 
195, 198, 211, 223, 264, 273, 287, 
306, 315-317. 327, 328, 339, 1,(>3, 
364, 366, 370, 383-385, 387, 388, 
394. 416 

Evrard, Catherine, 293, 295 

Fehrbellin, 199 

Ferdinand II., of Germany, 165- 

167, 169, 173-175' »79, 180, 185, 

188 
Ferdinand, son of Pedro I., 77, 

78,80 
Finland, 214, 252, 253, 265, 268, 274 
Finns, 26S 

Flaccus, Lucius, 18, 19 
Ford's Theatre, 346, 347, 348 
Forum, 15, 16 
Foy, General, 332 
France, 59, 60, 62, 91, 93, 103, 112, 

147, 152, 154, 155, 160, 161, 194, 

195, 202, 215, 251, 252, 254, 272, 

273, 284, 285, 287, 288, 295, 298, 

315, 318, 323, 327-329, 331, 333, 

334, 339. 366, 383, 400 
Franche-Comte, 125, 194 
Francis I., of Austria, 317 
Francis I., of France, 147, 148 
Francis II., of France, 90, 93, 149 
Franco-Austrian alliance, 226 
Franconia, 177 
Frederick II., King of Prussia, 

223, 226, 227, 229, 253, 265, 268, 

366 
Frederick William, Elector of 

Brandenburg, 198 
Frederick William I., King of 

Prussia, 223 
Frederick William III., King of 

Prussia, 317 
Frederickshall, Fortress of, 250 
Frederickshamm, Fortress of, 268 
French chambers, 331 
French Empire, 331 
French Republic, 394 



426 



INDEX 



French Revolution, 50, in, 156, 
249, 264, 272, 273, 284, 288, 291, 

305.317.321,328,330.331. 333 
Frencli Revolutionists, 2S6 
Friedlanders, 170, 181 
" Friend of the People," 292 
P'riesUmd, 191 
Frisia, 120 
Fuerst, Walter, 69, 70 

Galitzin, Count, 235, 237 
Gallas, General, 184, 186 
Garde, Count de la, 330 
Garfield, James A., 381 
Gatschina, 303 
Gaul, 26, 27 

Gerard, Balthasar, 125, 126 
German Empire, 67, 198, 318, 324 
German Reformation, 320 
German Universities, 318-320 
Germany, 112, 118, 120, 121, 147, 

148, 167-169, 171, 174, 175, 195. 

222, 273, 286, 315, 318-321,324, 

327, 383 
Gessler, Hermann, 65-73 
Gil Bias, 158 
Girondists, 284, 285, 288, 290, 294. 

29s 
Glasgow, 104, 105 
Goethe, 122. 123, 359 
Golden Fleece, Knight of the, 120 
Goldmann, Emma, 391 

Gonsalvcz, ,84, 85 

Gordon, General, 184, 186 
Gortschakoff, Prince, 372 
Gracchus, Caius, 11, 12, 13, 20, 21, 

191 
Gracchus, Sempronius, 12 
Gracchus, Tiberius, 9-21, 191 
Grammaticus, Saxo, 73 
Grant, General, 343, 346, 348 
Granvella, Cardinal, 1 14-116, 123 
Greece, 3, 6, 45, 2S7 
Greek church, 227 
Guise, Duke of, 90, 149 



Guise, Henry of, 155 

Guiteau, Charles J., 381, 382 

Gustavus I., 269 

Gustavus II., 175-182, 18S, 259, 268 

Gustavus III., 247-279 

Hague, The, 191, 205, 207, 385 

Haller, Albrecht von, 321 

Hannibal, 12 

Hanseatic League, 102 

Hapsburg, House of, 119, 154 

Harrach, Count, 169 

Hats, Party of the, 251-253, 256, 

257, 263 
Helimagdan Garden, 417 
Heliogabalus, 156 
Hellichius, Captain, 257 
Henrietta, Princess of France, 196 
Henry II., of England, 53-63 
Henry VIII., of England, 94 
Henry II., of France, 148-150 
Henry HI., of France, 149, 152, 155 
Henry IV., of France, 145-161, 354, 

355 

" Heptameron," 150 

Hermandad, 361 

Herzegovina, 399 

Herzen, Alexander, 367, 368, 370 

Hesse-Cassel, Frederick of, 250 

Hesse-Darmstadt, Princess of, 375 

Hessian queue, 321 

Hochst, 167 

Hohenstaufen, 318 

Holland, 115, 125, 191, 193, 202, 
204-206, 215 

Ilolstein, 239, 241 

Holstcin-Gottorp, Charles Fred- 
erick of, 222, 250 

Holstein-Gottorp, Duke of, 229 

Holsteln-Guards, 236 

Holsteiners, 224 

Holy Alliance, 316 

Holy Sepulchre, 63 

Holyrood Palace, 92,97, 99-102, 
105, 106, 108 



427 



INDEX 



Horace, 286 

Hoorn, Count, 115, 118, 119 

Horn, Count, 274-277 

Horn, General, 177 

Humbert, King of Italy, 3S7, 394 

" Hundred Days," 329 

Hungarian Revolution, 360 

Hungary, 170, 363,406 

Hungary, King of, 173 

Hypatia, 39-50 

Ides of March, 30 

lUo, General, 182-184, 186, 187 

lUyria, 5 

Imperial Guards, 307, 308, 360, 374 

Imperialists, 166, 168, 178, 328, 330 

Ireland, 102 

Ismailoff, General, 239, 240 

Italy, 27, 54, 93, 394 

Ivan IV., 129-143, 221, 222 

Ivan VI., 230, 244, 245, 301 

Jacobins, 273, 277, 284, 332 

Jacobins, White, 330 

James I., of England, loi 

James V., of Scotland, 90 

James VI., of Scotland, loi 

Jaureguy, Juan, 124, 125 

Jena, 322, 323 

Jena, University of, 321 

Jerusalem, 142 

Jesuits, 125 

Jews, 118 

John of Austria, 123, 124 

Johnson, Andrew, 348 

Johnston, General, 343 

Joseph II., of Austria, 366 

Julia, daughter of Augustus, 37 

Juliers-Cleves, 154 

Jupiter, 29 

Jupiter, Statue of, 27 

Karakasow, , 370 

Karamsin, N. M., 221 
Kasan, 133 



Keschko, Colonel, 401 
Kingsley, Charles, 49 
Kinsky, General, 182, 186 
Knox, John, 93 

Kolokos (" The Bell"), 367, 368 
Konac, 417 
Korner, K. T., 318 
Kotzebue, August von, 313-324 
Krapotkine, Prince, 372 
Kraskazelo, 241 
Kreuger, Oom, 70 
Kronstadt, 235, 237 
Kriidener, Madame, 317 
Kuessnacht, 71, 72 
Kuessnacht, Castle of, 67 
Kyrillos, see Cyril, St. 

LAB^DOviRE, General, 329 
Laborers, International Associa- 
tion of, 385 
Lafayette, 332 
Lagarde, Chauveau, 296 
La Guarda, Archbishop, 85 
" La Henriade," 155 
Lamballe, Princess de, 50 
Laputkin, Eudoxia, 211-215 
Laputkin family, 212, 214 
La Rochelle, 151 
La Vendee, 330 
League, The, 150, 152, 153 
Lee, General, 343, 350 
Leipsic, 367 
Leipsic, Battle of, 320 
Lennox, Earl of, 104, 108 

Leslie, , 186 

Liberals, 365, 369 

Licinian law, 14 

Liliehorn, Count, 274, 275, 277 

Lille, 194 

Lincoln, Abraham, 7, 26, 125, 341- 

355 
Lincoln, Mrs., 346, 347 
Livadia, 373, 374 
Livia, Drusilla, 36 
Lobkowitz, Prime Minister, 198 



428 



INDEX 



London, 367 

Lorraine, Cardinal de, 90, 149 

Louis, XIV., 194, 196, 198, 200, 

203. 25s, 384 
Louis XV., 156- 161, 254 
Louis XVL, 272, 273, 333 
Louis XVIIL, 32S, 329, 335, 339 
Louvel, J. P., 334-340 
Louvet de Couvray, J. B., 285 
Lunyevitch, Nicodemus, 414, 416 
Luther, Martin, 147, 320, 321 
Lutheran church, 120 
Lutheran faith, u6 
Liitzen, 181 
Luxembourg, 200 
Lu.xembourg Garden, 329 

Macedo.nia, 400 

McKinley, William, 157,379-395 

McKinley, Mrs., 388, 389 

Madrid, 116 

Magdeburg, 166 

Mannheim, 323 

Mansfeld, General, 166, 167 

Marat, 281 - 298 

Maratists, 297 

Marcellus, 36 

Margaret, Duchess of Parma, 114, 

115, 1 17, 122, 123 
Margaret, Queen of Navarre, 150 
Margrave, The, of Baden, 167 
Maria, Empress of Russia, 308 
Marie Antoinette, 50, 271, 272, 296 
Marie de Lorraine, 90 
Marie Therese Charlotte, 333 
Marin, Colonel, 309, 310 
Marx, Carl, 385 
Mary de Medicis, 154 
Mary, Queen of England, 113 
Mary, Queen of Scots, 89-108, 

149 
Maschin, Colonel, 416, 417, 419 
Masnaliza (Russian Carnival), 307 
Massmann, 321 
Maumovitch, Colonel, 417, 419 



Maurice, Elector of Saxony, 116 

Maximilian of Bavaria, 166, 168 

Mayenne, Duke of, 150 

Mecklenburg, 171, 172 

Mecklenburg, Duke of, 171, 178 

Medicis, Catherine de, see Cath- 
erine de Medicis 

Medicis, Mary de, see Mary de 
Medicis 

Mediterranean, 318, 400 

Melchthal, Arnold, 69 

Melikow, Count, 372 

Messalina, wife of Claudius, ^6, 

37 
Metternich, 316, 332 
Mexico, 349 
Milan, King of Servia, 400-405, 

409, 410 
Milton, John, 155 
Mirowitch, Lieutenant, 244, 245 
Mississippi River, 353 
Mitshitch, Colonel, 417 
Monroe Doctrine, 316, 383 
Montesquieu, 265, 287 
Montpellier, 330 
Moravia, 167, 177 
Moriscoes, 118 

Moscow, 136, 137, 308, 363, 374 
Most, John, 386 
Mueller, Johannes von, 73 
Munda, Battle of, 28 
Mlinnich, Marshal, 228, 236, 238 
Miinster, Count, 312 
Murray, Lord, 94, 99 

Nantes, Edict of, 147, 153, 354 

Naples, 215 

Napoleon L, 25, 31, 73, 315-317, 

327. 329. 330, 334 
Nasica, Scipio, 19 
Nassau, Lewis, Count of, 120 
Natalie, Queen of Servia, 401-406, 

410 
National Assembly, 284 
National Convention, 284 



429 



INDEX 



Neoptolemus, 6 
Nero, 33-38, 67 
Netherlands, 112-114, 116-121,126, 

167, 192, 194, 195, 197, 198 
Neva river, 363 

Newman, , i86 

Ney, Marshal, 329 

Nicholas I., 360, 361, 363-365, 368, 

369 
Nicholas, son of Paul I., 307 
Nihilism, 369-372, 386 
Nihilists, 369, 370, 371, 374, 377, 378 
Nimes, 330 
Nitria, 43, 44 

Normandy, 61, 62, 285, 2S9, 294 
North Carolina, 343 
Northampton, England, 59 
Norway, 249, 263 
Novgorod, 140, 142 
Novgorod, Archbishop of, 140, I4r, 

234 
Nuremberg, 178 

Obrenovitch, Michael, 404 

Octavius, 15, 16, 17 

Olympian games, 6 

Olympias, Queen of Macedon, 4, 

5.6 
Orange, House of, 191, 193 
Orange Free State, 70 
Oranienbaum, 236, 238, 240, 241 
Orestes, 44-47 
Orleans, Due d', 196, 337 
Orleans, Duchesse d', 337 
Orloff, Alexis, 232, 234, 241, 242, 

245.302, 304,311 
Orloff, Feodor, 232 
Orloff, Gregor, 232, 233, 239, 302 
Orloff, Ivan, 232 
Ostia, 38 
Oudenarde, 194 
Oxford, 54 

Pacheco, 78, 84, 85 

Pacific Ocean, 384, 386, 388, 389 



Pahlen, Count, 307, 308, 309 
Palais Royal, 291 
Palais Royal, Garden of the, 337 
Pan-American Exposition, 386, 

387- 389 
Panapotovitch, Captain, 417 
Panin, Count, 230, 23 [ 
Pappenheim, General, 181 
Paris, 54, 5,s, 149. i54. iS7, 254, 

273, 277, 284, 285, 288, 289, 291, 

294, 322, 327, 333-335. 338, 339. 

367 
Paris, University of, 54 
Parma, Duke of, 125 
Paterson, N. J., 387 
Paul I., of Russia, 231, 244, 299- 

312 
Pausanias, 5 
Pavia, Battle of, 147 
Pavilion Marsan, 330 
Pechlin, Baron, 274, 277 
Pedro I., of Portugal, 77-85 
Pedro the Cruel, of Castile, 84, 85 
Peers, Chamber of, 340 
Perpetual Edict, 200, 206, 207 
Persia, 4 

Peter, a priest, 47, 48, 50 
Peter I. (the Great), of Russia, 

2 1 1-2 1 5, 222, 227, 229, 232, 233, 

360 
Peter 11., of Russia, 214 
Peter III., of Russia, 219-246, 301, 

302, 303. 304. 30s. 31 1 
Peterhof, 227, 233, 238, 239, 240, 

241 
Petion, 285, 290 
Petrovitch, Lavar, 418 
Pharsalus, Battle of, 27, 31 
Philip II., of Macedon, 1-7 
Philip II., of Spain, 112, 113-117, 

121-124, 126, 127, 151 
Philip IV., of Spain, 194 
Philip, the Metropolitan, 139 
Philippine Islands, 383 
Piccolomini, Octavio, 186 



430 



INDEX 



Piedmont, 93 

Pilsen, 184 

Plato, 45 

Plutarch, 16, 2S6, 288, 289 

Plutarch's Lives, 291 

Poitiers, Diana of, see Diana of 

Poitiers 
Poland, 225, 363 
Poland, King of, 140 
Polyeuctc, 286 
Pomerania, 171, 176, 238 
Pompadour, Madame de, 156, 158 
Pompey, 26, 27, 28 
Pompey, Statue of, 31 
Poniatowski, Prince, 225 
Pontus, 27 
Pope of Rome, 55, 58, 59, 62, 63, 

77,83,85, 112 
Poppaea, wife of Nero, 37 
Portugal, 81, 84, 85, 112 
Potemkin, General, 231 
Prague, 173, 174 
Preobrajenski guards, 233 
Prim, General, 394 
Protestant church, 120, 149, 165, 

354 
Protestant reformation, ir2, 117 
Protestant Union, 166, 167, 170 
Protestanism, 354 
Protitch, General, 404 
Provence, 14S 
Provence, Comte de, 333 
Providence Hotel, 291 
Provinces, United, 126 
Proudhon, P. J., 385 
Prussia, 215, 251, 273, 315, 318, 

360 
Pskoff, 372 
Ptolemies, 41, 42 
Ptolemy Philadelphus, 42 
Ptolemy Physcon, 42 
Pyrenean peninsula, 112 
Pyrenees, 408 



QuEROUET, Mademoiselle de, 196 



Ramel, General, 330 
Rappahannock River, 349 
Ravaillac, rran9ois, 154, 155, 157, 

160 
Raynal, Abbe, 287 
Regensburg. Diet of, 172 
Reichsrath, 250-259, 262, 263, 269, 

270 
Reichstag of Gefle, 273 
Reichstag, Swedish, 255, 256, 269, 

^-17,, 278 
Repnin, General, 231 
Republicans, 328, 330 
Restitution edict, 172, 175 
Reutli, 69 

Reutli conspiracy, 70 
Reval, 238 

Revolutionists, 284, 297 
Rheims, 90 
Rhine, 177, 198 
Ribbing, Count, 274, 275, 277 
Richelieu, Cardinal, 175 
Richelieu, Due de, 332 
Richmond, 346 
Richter, 323 
Ristitch, M., 404, 407 
Rizzio, David, 87-ioS 
Robespierre, 284, 290, 291 
Robzak, 241 

Romanowna, Anastasia, 132, 133 
Rome, 11-14, 25-27,41, 156,287 
Rome, Ancient kings of, 29 
Roman Campagna, 13 
Roman Empire, 27, 43 
Roman Republic, 27, 28, 36 
Rostock, 123, 172 
Rostopchin, Count, 308 
Roumania, 399 
Roumelia, 400 
Rousseau, 287-289 
Royalists, 284, 328-331, 334, 339 
Rudolph of Hapsburg, 68 
Rue des Cordeliers, 292 
Russia, 131, 215, 216, 221-223, 226- 
230, 234, 237, 249, 251, 252, 26&- 



431 



INDEX 



271, 273, 306, 312, 315, 322, 361, 
362, 367-369, 377, 383, 394, 399, 
400 

Russian Carnival, 307 
Russian Church, 227 
Russian Empire, 305 
Russian serfs, 394 
Russian universities, 365 
Ruthven, , 97, 99 

St. Angelo, Castle of, 215 

St. Bartholomew, Eve of, in, 140, 

149. 152 
St. Louis, 3S6 

St. Michael, Palace of, 308, 312 
St. Michael's Canal, 376 
St. Petersburg, 215, 222,225, 233- 

236, 238, 241, 243, 268, 303, 311, 

370, 373. 374. yii 
St, Petersburg, Governor-General 

of, 309 
San Francisco, 389 
Sand, C. L., 322, 323, 324 
Sassoulitch, Vera, 370 
Savoy, 148 
Saxony, 180, 181 
Saxony, Elector of, 181 
Scandinavia, 73 
Scania, 257 

Scharnhorst, General, 318 
Schiller, Frederick, 73, 318 
Schiisselburg, 230, 244, 301 
Schwab, Justus, 386 
Schwyz, 67, 69 

vScipio Africanus, Cornelius, 12 
Scotland, 91, 93, 100-102 
Sempronian law, 11 
Seni, the astrologer, 173 
Serapeum, 42, 43 
Servia, 399, 400, 401, 404, 405, 411, 

413,417,419 
Servia, Metropolitan of, 403, 411 
Servian Parliament, see Skuptshina 
Seven Years' War, 253 
Seward, William H., 347, 348, 350 



Shakespeare, William, 25, 371 
Siberia, 228, 361, 362, 366 
Siberian exiles, 365, 366 
Silesia, 177 
Silius, Caius, 37 
Skuptshina, 411, 412 
Socialism, 368 
Socialist congress, 385 
Socialists, 369 

Sodermanland, Duke of, 277 
Sokoloff, Alexander, 372, 373 
Solbay, Battle of, 203, 206 
Soltikoff, Count, 225 
Soothsayer, 18 
South African War, 68 
South America, 316, 383, 413 
Spain, 13, 81, 103, III, 112, 126, 

127, 153. 154, 177. 194. 202, 382, 

383. 394 
Spanish-American War, 382, 383 
Spanish Inquisition, 112, 115, 121, 

361 
Spanish Netherlands, 194, 197 
Stanton, E. M., 346, 348 
Stauffacher, Werner, of Schwyz, 

69 
Stockholm, 252, 254-257, 260, 263, 

269, 274, 277, 278 
Stourdza, Baron, 322, 323 
Stralsund, Fortress of, 171 
Sulla, General, 29 
Sully, Duke of, 153, 154 
Surratt, Mrs., 349, 350 
Suwarow, General, 231 
Sweden, 175, 194, 195, 197, 222, 

249, 251, 254, 256, 257, 262, 263, 

265, 267, 269, 271 
Swenskasund, Battle of, 270 
Swiss Cantons, 67, 68 
Switzerland, 68, 71, 73 
Switzerland Republic, 73 
Synesius, 46 



Tacitus, 38, 288 
Talizin, General, 307, 309 



432 



INDEX 



Tasso, 155 

Tell, William, 67, 70, 72 

Tepelof, , 241 

Terrorists, 285, 288, 295 

Terzky, General, 182, 186 

Theobald, Archbishop of Canter- 
bury, 54, 55 

Theocritus, 42 

Theodosius the Great, 42 

Theon, father of Hypatia, 45 

Theophilus, Archbishop of Alex- 
andria, 43, 44 

Thirty Years' War, 176, 188 

Thuringia, 180 

Thurn, Count, 180 

Tiberius, 33-38 

Tichelaar, , 205, 206 

Tilly, General, 166-168, 176 

Toropetz, 372 

Toulouse, 55, 330 

Tournay, 194 

Transvaal, 70 

Transylvania, 170 

Trent, Court of, 116 

Trepow, General, 370, 372 

Treves, College of, 125 

Trianon, 156 

Tribunal, Revolutionary, 295 

Tribunes, Ten, 15 

Triple Alliance, 194, 195, 197 

Tromp, Admiral, 193 

Troubles, Court of, 119 

Trubetzkoi, Prince, 243, 244 

Turenne, Marshal, 200 

Turgenieff, Ivan, 369 

Turkey, 225, 363, 400, 401. 

Turkey, European, 399 

Tuscany, 13 

Tver, 366 

Twer, 138 

United Netherlands, 195, 196 
United Provinces, 192 
United States, 343, 354, 381-385. 
392 

28 433 



United States Territories, 68 
Unterwalden, 67, 69 
Uri, 67, 69 
Uri, Lake of, 69 

Varennes, 273 

Vauban, Marshal, 195, 200 

Venus, Temple of, 29 

Vergennes, Count de, 254 

Versailles, 156, 157, 265, 334-336 

Vienna, 176, 178, 180, 195, 215 

Vienna congress, 316 

Virgil, 155 

Virginia, 343, 349 

" Voice of the People," 386 

Voltaire, 155, 287 

Vorwarts, Marshal, 123 

Waldstadte, Three (Forest Can- 
tons), 67 

Wallenstein, General, 163-188, 308 

Wartburg, 320 

Wartburg celebration, 321, 322 

Washington, D. C, 346, 348, 393 

Washington, George, 126, 127,351, 
388 

Waterloo, 329 

West Indies, 384 

Western Hemisphere, 316 

Westminster, 193 

White Mountain, Battle of, 167 

Wiesbaden, 404 

Wiesloch, 167 

William I., Prince of Orange, 109- 
128 

William II,, Prince of Orange, 192 

William III., Prince of Orange, 
King of England, 199, 200, 203, 
204, 207, 208 

Wimpfen, 167 

Wimpfen, General, 285 

Winter Palace, 309, 376, 377 

Wladimir, Grand Duchess, 135 

Wladimir, Grand Duke, 135 

Worcestershire, England, 57 



INDEX 



Wane, Diet oL, 530 

Wanmxow, Elizabeth, Coaatess, 

asfiw 227. 230, 236-259 
Wv»edel, 322 
Wuteabess, 177 



Yom:, , 31 S 

Yssd, 201 

ZX-VLAXB, 115, 192. 195, 304 

Znboir, Nicholas, 31Q, 311 
Zabow Brodieis, 307 



454 



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